Deconstructive Legacy
by Luke Danger
Summary: A continuation fanfic. In the aftermath of the lorwardian attack, supers have been revealed to a relatively ignorant world. As the world picks up the peices, things continue to destabalize, leaving Kim and Ron to find their way through this changing world
1. Chapter 1: Legacy of an Era

_**Disclaimers of a Teenaged Author: I do not own Kim Possible, or any related media. I do, however, own any original characters that actually are originals and not cameos from other series. Cameos of other series are the ownership of their respective series and related media. And even if it'd be awesome if I did own any related media of Kim Possible or any aforementioned series, I'd probably just foul it up, so let's be glad that I stick to fanfic writing, eh? The shippers, oh god, the shippers... and shipping wars...**_

_**Enjoy the story. If it isn't your cup of tea, fair enough. I'd just recommend you to [insert your-cup-of-tea here].**_

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_XXK/RXX_

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_**Chapter 1: Legacy of an Era**_

_**Sometime in the future... At least several centuries (2500 (human) Common Era)**_

Dorothy Lipski wearily pushed through the heavy door, and once inside rubbed her recently burnt arm; she'd already bandaged it up, but she didn't have a chance to do anything further, so she injected some of the _Covalence_ medical injections she had on-hand, grunting as she pulled the needle out of her shoulder. She was annoyed that the magic missile that had hit her there was able to cut through the grey with blue accent composite armor she was wearing, never mind bypassing her kinetic barrier. _Jeez, and it's not even civilian stuff I'm using; it's modern military surplus!_

She looked around as she craned her neck to get a better look at the tall shelves in the darkened room. The place looked like a giant **archive**; _Exactly what it said on the tin, indeed._ she decided as she saw volume after volume of dusty tomes. _They weren't kidding when they said galactic history was stored here..._ What surprised her however was the primitive storage medium; almost all of it was in _paper_. She knew paper had been used for hundreds of years and still was for hard copies, but she wasn't expecting this. She pulled out her flashlight; it was an old relic of the 2010's at this point, but it was always useful to have something that couldn't be disrupted baring a direct attack, and given what she had to bypass to get here, she wasn't wrong in that regard.

She heard something slide with a rattle in the darkness, getting louder as it came closer. She instinctively activated her energy gauntlets which began to glow with the distinct cyan color that most human-made power gauntlets did and held her hands up in a basic combat stance, ready to fight out of instinct. She would of drawn her heavy pistol if she thought she had time to do so. _Wait, anti-magic and anti-tech jamming is in effect here. The gauntlets shouldn't even work! _She would of hit her forehead in embarrassment if she wasn't expecting an attack.

A shadow slid across the bookcases on the right wall, a ladder's silhouette visible in the shadow. She held the stance, quickly blowing a shred of blond hair out of her face as it slid over her eye. The ladder stopped with a dull scraping noise, and low teal lights turned on from a series of crystals set like shelves. The light revealed the figure: he was short, standing about up to her ribcage in height, and his floppy ears hung to the side. He had a certain mole-ish appearance with his thin brown fur giving him a felt-like appearance, and his hands had finely trimmed claws in between his three fingers, his opposable thumbs helping him grip the ladder. "Turn those toys off," he said derisively, his voice like gravel grinding in a pit, "You know you don't stand a chance if push came to shove."

"Can't blame a gal for being careful, considering your welcoming committee out there." She turned the gauntlets off as she gestured back with her thumb, realizing he probably could of easily nullified her with the Archive's defenses.

"You terrans are determined; most of the other members of the Archeological Society would of turned back had they come alone; in fact, many would not of _dared_."

"Humans;" she corrected in an irritated tone despite the term _Terran_ having a more badass ring to it, "As for daring, well, consider that I dig through abandoned colonies and military outposts, places that tend to be booby-trapped by survivors. If a dig isn't long and boring, it's a bit too exciting."

"Hrrmpf. Yes," he said, "Well, you know my title, and you shall refer to me as such, Dorothy Lipski."

"Of course, _Archivist._" She answered, keeping her tone respectful, even if she had a distaste for the man, he was the current Archivist. She was well aware of his position and the benefits he had from it, including a longer lifespan and advanced powers. He gave a curt nod, then shrugged, sliding down the ladder and landing on the soft stone floor with a dull thunk.

"So, what does a terran member of the Archeological Society want?" he asked, dusting his hands off and putting them on his hips, "You understand that, while we share the goal of preserving history and ensuring it is never forgotten, I cannot open my doors to all. This is an archive truer than any in the galaxy. Here is where the universe itself keeps history stored; the tales of those long since passed, no matter how insignificant they were in the grand scheme of things, all stored here. This is something that would be _abused_ by many and thus cannot be so freely shared."

"I understand," she responded, "but I came here for answers. On a more personal level. Seriously."

"Questioning the terran place in the galaxy, I take it."

"Sorta. They keep saying that even though I have one of Kim Possible's enemies for an ancestor, that it doesn't mean anything. I really don't get why it'd matter either way; it's almost like they're teasing me about it."

The Archivist snorted, sarcasm practically pouring from his voice, "Possible? I'll admit, she was an amazing woman, but they blow her exploits far out of proportion. And by they, I mean terrans, especially your cultural engineers. To listen to some, you would think she was the second coming of... what's the figure you terrans all revere religiously..." he walked to one of the databases and typed something in; "Ah yes, 'Christ'... or was that M..."

"Alright, that's exaggeration," she said to cut his rant off before it got _really_ awkweird, "They were heroic, yes, but you're aware that even the most insane of zealots avoided that bucket loada C4."

"Hrmpf, you terrans never did organize your religion effectively. No wonder you never really united before you got your uplift..." the Archivist continued, unabated by the interruption. He gestured her along, and they began to walk down through the limitless halls; so large that even with a thousand scholars and a thousand centuries it was unlikely it could all be categorized or even _comprehended_ in a coherent and researchable manner. The awe inspiring sight sent a chill down here spine as she began to feel a perspective of just how small anyone was in history.

"We uplifted ourselves; seriously." Dorothy answered as she realized just what he was implying, insulted that he was suggesting that humanity didn't earn its place in the stars like everyone else did. A 3-foot tall, pink-skinned creature with buck teeth and blue chest armor not unlike her own composite armor with a blue watch-like device on his left wrist walked by, placing a book into its place in the archive. She frowned as she looked at it, before having her attention drawn back to the Archivist.

"Oh really?" he said, snorting, "For a ranking member of the Archeological Society, you certainly are blind of historical accuracy, but I suppose the victors write history. Come, Dorothy, I'll show you the truth of the terran's greatest heroine and hero, the commonly agreed-upon cause of the Terran Era; a feat they earned with blood, sweat, and tears, but it is a feat they shared with others. Many others who made most of the actual scientific and magical advances. They did ensure many of the advances were made, but they made none of them themselves, they only ensured they survived."

He opened a vault deep inside. She almost wet herself as she realized just _what_ it was. The thick, grey shelves were all lined with very similar steel grey bound books. She didn't have any powers of her own, but she could just _feel_ the immense power of just what those books were. There was a gloom cast by the imposing shelves. Awestruck, she looked at the Archivist, and he said, "Few terrans have looked upon this vault... the last to do so were..."

"Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable." she said automatically, remembering the history text she'd read on their adventures.

"Actually, no, while they did visit, they weren't the last to do so, the last was one was my predecessor Archivists. You can thank them for the welcoming committee that was outside, considering that you terrans somehow found out about this _despite_ oaths sworn to maintain the secret."

"They didn't exploit a loophole, if that's what you think." she retorted, still in awe.

"I know _they_ did not. But a few good souls does not make a race worthy of a ranking place in the galaxy, if that indeed is your argument."

"It isn't, but we earned our place as a species, you know that. Kim and Ron are figures we could identify with proudly, like anyone would someone that good in their own ranks." She responded as they walked down the vault's massive hall. She could swear that it was far bigger on the inside than the outside as they walked by huge shelves. She was curiously eying the many books, all written in the same unintelligible dialect; a vast contrast to the extreme differences of dialects in the previous halls.

"You hail them as saints who could do no wrong," the Archivist continued, as if the subject was thorny to him, "Proof that your race earned its place as a whole. You watch too many movies and documentaries _written by terrans_."

"And written by others, not just _humans_." She was getting irritated now; he was blowing things _far_ out of proportions, _They weren't saints damn it; good people? Seriously hell yes! Saints? No. Even religious folks avoided that powder keg. Fanatics who make most crazy of zealots look sane, on the other hand... well, that's why we shun._

"Touché, but my opinion stands. Just because I archive the whole of history does not mean I am free of opinion. It is when it interferes in history's record that I must be free of it." He stopped and snapped his fingers, a ladder materializing, faint lines glowing along where the base of the ladder was planted, creating a monorail like line. He climbed up to pull a single text out, then asked: "You have a question, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. Why do you call us 'terrans', seriously? I know our era is _called_ the 'Terran Era' and our main government is called the Terran Federation; but come on, that was just because we needed something neutral to keep people together while we ironed out what to do back then." She really wanted to know why he used 'terran' extensively; most only used it to identify Terran Federation vessels and personnel once the proper terminology was ironed out.

"That is true," the Archivist said as he pulled a second text and held both under his arm, one atop the other, almost reverently as he climbed down the ladder, "I know many of my kin use human as well, but terran is the word I chose. I trust it is not a complication."

"Not at all," she answered, "It just seems like you throw it like an derogatory, seriously."

"Well, perhaps hearing from the woman that your people hold so reverently, as she lived her existence, will educate you on the truth. She was hardly the paragon of righteousness you terrans like to uphold her to be, but I would be betraying my duties to say she was not a _damn heroic_ woman who deserved the good reputation she had. You probably heard about a few... 'white lies' involving her. She was a mortal, like you and I, and thus had her flaws." He paused, placing the first book on a pedestal, the second on another, "_'We can do anything'_, properly coined by one Felix Renton at his 'High School' graduation in reference to Kim Possible as being a reminder that humans can do such. This event happened the same night that humanity had its first proper encounter with the galaxy at large, engaging a pair of lorwardian hunters whom acted independently of their government, and were not prepared for multiple defenders of power to rise up and challenge them. The phrase "_We can do anything_" has long since become, as terran popular culture says, your species-wide 'hat'. I can understand why given your versatility and adaptability, your uncanny knack to be able to work with basics to match superior technology and higher magics."

He took a breath as he turned to look at her directly, hands on his hips again, "Your ability to fight and live even when high technology and high magic are denied to you is generally unmatched. Your race has proven capable of using both technology and magic, yet terran society is not inherently bound to either, most notable in the typical terran military doctrine. It is easy to understand why this adaptability quietly scared the proverbial feces out of Alliance leadership at the time when you first made proper contact. Between the reverse engineering of lorwardian technology and the ability close the gap with Alliance powers in a short period of time, we had good reason to be worried of what would happen if you were not checked." He closed his eyes a moment, quietly incanting something that her translator didn't pick up, then opened them as the two books glowed on the pedestal. He continued as he stepped away. She watched him walk around, accessing one of the holoplayers she saw earlier, texts materializing above as he entered in codes to the player's controls.

"But to be able to do anything? That includes many things, including the most despicable; shall I name some? You can _cheat_, you can _lie,_ you can _murder_, you can _betray_ those who _helped_ you out of the goodness of their hearts, your _bowels posthumously_ _empty_." He inhaled sharply, taking a momentary break from his rant, turning his head to look at her, his ears flopping as he did so. "You are far from perfect, despite what this phrase would imply. This pseudo-motto is a double-edged blade, and terrans walk that line finely, if the ratio of terran civil wars and splits in comparison to other species implies anything. It is a strength, as your adaptability has allowed you to thrive and you have faced consistent adversity, I will not deny it, but conversely, this versatility it is your weakness." He paused, waiting for her to make a counterpoint. When none came (she knew this philosophical argument inside out), he continued; "It can make you among the best if it truly is an honest soul, but more often than not it goes the other way. I will not say that the same cannot be said of other species, other members of the galaxy, now and in the past, but it is most noticeable in you terrans."

"Maybe, but it's not like you can say anyone else wasn't as screwed up as we were. Sure, we were inclined to fight each other, but hey, we're all sentient, it happens." she gestured with her arms before dropping them dully to end the point. "Considering our first real global unity came through a war, you could say we iron things out with blood;" she curled her lip as she remembered her 19th century history classes; "and iron."

"Indeed, something everyone is tragically familiar with," the Archivist answered with a faint smile as he gathered up the texts he'd pulled from the Archive, "I'm guessing that is where you started wondering things about those two, that conflict?" he gestured down at the two books on the pedestal.

"Sort of; I mean, it was a steady trend for me to start questioning history. It began when I found a contemporary text on 'em, when we were doing some excavations in Old Sanctuary. It wasn't a pleasant read, considering the author was a Dominion loyalist who survived the war. Seriously, some of the things in there weren't nice."

"He was, by affiliation, hostile to Kim and Ron," the Archivist dismissively said as he raised a hand, a table floating down from the abyssal ceiling above, "His opinion is likely to be slanted."

"Maybe. But the thing is." She paused a moment as her voice failed, she swallowed, "The thing is that some of the things he said were true..."

"Perhaps, but how do you see them? The actions of theirs that he called out?" the Archivist asked as he placed the documents he gathered onto the table carefully, then walked over and opened the first book he had placed on the pedestal. He looked at her as she was confused by the question, then said, "Now then, young Lipski; you know exactly what you're looking at, you've studied long and well; if not for your recovery of one to this Archive, I would of aimed to bar your passage."

"A _Liber Memoriarum_," she said, nodding, "Still thought to be a rumor by most people, despite how many have been recovered... living memories that've been pretty much enshrined for history to remember, sort of like autobiographies, but much deeper. They keep updating themselves right up until the person they're about passes away, then a conclusion is written out. They're usually here in the Archive, but occasionally wind up scattered to the outside galaxy by accident. Black marketers and those who don't like us try to keep them from the Archeological Society and use them for personal gain, not that they really can, given their sealant nature."_ And they're handily nigh-indestructible, and impossible to fashion into any form of armor. They're books, and they stay books for eternity. Like it's something the universe itself wants to maintain..._ she then considered the off-the-scale power of the Archive itself.

"Good recall." the Archivist continued, breaking her thoughts off, "Now, this pedestal has been attuned, and will allow you to hear the story without the usual roulette of issues involved with the _Liber Memoriarum_ being used. You will hear it in the words of the terran's greatest heroine and you will also hear the story from the terran's greatest hero: Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, respectively. You will also be able to hear from others of the age, see documents of the time, but these two are just who you're looking into, I think." He simply gestured, "You're move, Miss Lipski."

She paused, looking down at the first tome; looking at it; she stepped onto the pedestal's small platform. She laid a hand on the sigil before the book which glowed, blinding her in white light. She listened as she was temporarily deafened... she could hear buzzing, and finally, she could hear someone talking.

She recognized the voice immediately; she'd heard it in several of the digs in remote areas, old bases, research labs, even colonial archives with intact audio records.

_XXXKPXXX_

_"After what happened at graduation, it wasn't hard to say that the era had changed. I mean, sure, we survived an alien invasion... but the world was hurting hard; the lorwardian walkers had done a lot of damage, and not everything had recovered from the EMP beforehand; it was amazing we got what we did out there. We figured the world would recover, as it always did; Lil Diablo's havoc wasn't long in fixing, despite the global effect... we were wrong. So wrong. It would take a long time to recover..."_

_"There was some good news, though even then it was bad news: all sorts of other heroes got a chance to work together like they never had before, and a lot more than even I thought there were. Bad news: this also meant that the villains had a one-up over us, they'd been conventioning for a long time, despite the real foes they face being in somewhat local areas or unknown. I was one of the few heroes out there who actually got global attention, something a lot of heroes and even just normal people who happened to have powers or some such let happen to take attention off of themselves. After the walkers though, things changed. Supers started appearing where previously they'd been not so known; things got weird..."_

_XXXKPXXX_

**July 8th, 2007 Common Era**

**Somewhere in Nevada, USA**

Kimberly Anne Possible ducked as the blast flew over her head from the grain silo they were trying to get into, "Ron!" she shouted, "Watch it!"

"Got it KP!" Ron shouted back, "Running!" Several blue energy blasts followed him, putting small, smoking scorch marks into the ground behind him; he was putting his mad-running away skills to the test as he ran through the courtyard. Rufus was unaccounted for.

_Beep-beep be-beep_; her wrist Kimmunicator went off; she answered, staying behind cover, "What's the sitch Wade? Ron needs some help!"

"_I know_," Wade said from his makeshift mission control; a single computer in his hastily fixed house, in addition to the monitor he was watching her on, "_But I'm detecting the Pan-Dimensional Vortex Inducer's signature inside the silo; you need to get in there now, before these guys accidently activate it_."

"How many times does it get stolen?" Kim asked before glancing over; ducking as one of the guards sent a pulse from his rifle at her. Wade didn't answer; he knew the when she was asking a rhetorical question after four years. She leapt over the cover, using a handspring to avoid another guard advancing on her with a pair of PBD Electro-Gauntlets. _Someone had to reverse engineer the shock-staves Drakken gave his mooks..._ Kim thought as she landed on his head, using him as a ledge to leapt up over, and she drew her grappling hook and aiming it at the catwalk where a guard was taking shots at Ron with terrible aim... or Ron was just that good at dodging. Hoping for the latter as her hook caught and she swung under, pushing herself off the silo as her feet reached it and she released the grappling hook, kicking the guard in the back and sending him over. _Few more of these guys left,_ she thought, sprinting to the next one, who had noticed his partner fall and was turning to fire at her with his GJA-13 energy rifle. His first shot would of hit her in the stomach if he hadn't slipped on the wet metal as he rapidly turned. Kim wasn't going to count on the coincidence of rain the night before again; she leapt up and caught on the next floor of catwalk's bars, using it to swing to the next, causing his aim to miss. He aimed ahead, finally, but Kim just dropped, rolling forward to keep her momentum, and came out of it with a handspring, which resulting in her boot getting right into the man's face, knocking him into the rails and sending his rifle away.

"Ow..." the guard said, glancing at the soaring away energy rifle.

"I know this sounds lame, but guns are so uncivilized." She grabbed him by the vest, flipping him over, and slammed him back-first into the catwalk. She finished by punching him in the face, hard enough to knock him out cold and sending one of his teeth bloodily out of its place. (As well as causing her hand to hurt briefly, but she was used to that after four years.) She was about to move on to the next guard firing when she heard Ron scream; he had been hit by one of the guards who evidently was wielding a sniper rifle from somewhere. Kim tapped the Kimmunicator, getting the guard's location from Wade's GPS scan and spotted him at the top of the silo... where the Pan-Dimensional Vortex Inducer was. Ron wasn't getting up...

She aimed the next grapple in her grappling hook to one of the connecting tubes to the silo. It caught and she used it to reel her to the top. The sniper had spotted her and took a shot, but the motor in the grappling hook was too strong and pulled her past the energy round. It pulled her up quickly and she released it as she reached the top, swerving to the side as another round sped past her, just missing and taking some of her hair with it, a faint odor of singed hair reaching her nostrils. She slid forward, tripping the sniper up and sending his rifle over the edge and knocking him over while the sniper's spotter moved up with a jackknife. Kim kicked the weapon away with one well-placed strike and punched the spotter in the gut, then threw her off the silo and into a catwalk below. A crunch followed.

The sniper had recovered and had pulled out a knife as well, taking a swipe at her. Kim leapt over and pushed herself off the man's shoulders, landing behind him. He had already turned around and bringing the knife to bear, this time making a forward stroke. The knife slashed along Kim's ribcage, but because she was ducking backwards it was only a shallow cut, but still a cut, and it _hurt_, even with her tolerance for pain. The sniper continued the assault, aiming high and low, trying to force Kim off the roof. She let him; dropping down and landed on a support beam, before jumping to another and climbing back on. The sniper moved up, but did not commit; _He's stalling!_ she realized as she heard shouting from the other guards that she hadn't neutralized. She rushed forward, grabbing the sniper's knife-wielding wrist and snapping the weapon away, despite the knife slashing along her arm in the process; _Not too deep; worry about it later!_ she thought as she kneed the sniper in the crotch and threw him to the walkway up to the silo roof, into a pair of guards. She ran to a hatch, pulling it open and leaping inside...

She landed on grain, and in the center was the Pan-Dimensional Vortex Inducer, primed to activate. She pulled herself through the grain, and grabbed it, making sure it was off... but the hatch opened, and she had no fast way out before they could get a rifle burst, or worse, a grenade inside...

"Hi!" said a squeaky-cute voice, and Kim looked to the side; Rufus the naked mole rat was manning a control, and he pulled the lever. As she heard the distinct burst of the pulse rifles used, the grain silo quickly emptied, taking her with it. Blue bursts hit the grain, burning it, but the hadn't managed to hit her... yet.

Suddenly she was sent tumbling down, and landed face first on the hard ground... with a pair of guards pointing their energy rifles at her; energy bayonets attached.

"You lose, Possible," the first one said, clad in full blue Kevlar armor and his eyes masked by the black goggles connected to standard-issue PBD helmets.

"Really?" Kim asked, sliding her legs around and tripping the two guards... only to receive a stab wound to the knee as the two guards stabbed downward, one of which stuck and _came off the bayonet mount_. She inhaled sharply, pained gasps escaping her lips as she finished the move, one of her legs pinned by the energy bayonet's stun charge. Pain shot through her leg and head as shock set in, clouding her vision; a wintery cold settling into her spine. She pulled the smoking energy bayonet out of her leg, the two centimeters of penetration quickly coming out, but with extreme pain. She pushed herself up, forcing herself to forget the pain, but she couldn't run at full speed, running with a limp as she rushed for the extraction point... she didn't have time to get to Ron before the rest of the guards closed in on her... she knew it took more than one hit to knock Ron out anyways. _Right?_ she thought as her leg nearly gave out as a GJ hovercraft, armed to the teeth with heavy weaponry (which was unloading it's ammunition steadily in a suppressive firing _wall_ of tear gas rockets and energy rounds) came down... two soldiers, GJ operatives, were inside and pulled her into the helicopter. Rufus had ran up and leapt in, and the helicopter took off. Kim fainted...

XX

... only to wake up as the simulation ended; her body was perfectly normal, no wounds and the chill had left her spine, the pain ceasing as her body realized it wasn't actually in danger. _That's gotta screw my nervous system up,_ Kim mused briefly as she pulled the helmet that connected her to the simulation off, especially when she began considering how deeply it was supposed to immerse the person into the simulation. Ron was already standing, evidently they cut the simulator early as he was downed early.

"Nice melee, KP." Ron said, gesturing over to the spotter, who was rubbing the back of her head, "And they said you couldn't handle military-grade sniper rifles. I couldn't, heh."

"Well," Wade said, walking in from the control room with a technician next to him, where they were doing mission control _for both sides_, "I'm just glad the sims aren't broken; Shadow-Training wasn't something I wanted to lose. Surprised GJ didn't get the tech first."

"No budget," said the technician, who was doing a checklist, "We spent a lot of it on anti-villain countermeasures, and in 05 we put in stuff to our 'Ron Factor' research... Alright... Safeguard; you successfully tagged one of two enemies, good job there, but you failed to prevent the theft of the device and although you mortally wounded the second intruder, she made it to the evacuation location. You suffered a 30% casualty rate fatally, with the rest wounded, mostly bruises in that case."

"Who're the fatals?" asked the Sniper.

"Your spotter; she hit the catwalk and bounced on down and off the railing, the perimeter guards got fatalities too..."

Kim threw Ron a dirty look, and he simply said, "Hey, I wasn't the one who slammed them into a barbed wire fence."

"I only threw them into the fence part."

"It was full barb wire; designed to seem normal." said one of the two super-buff guards that they had beaten when they started the simulation. "Beats me why someone would do that."

"You said it John," said the other, "Gotta admit, that's a sucky way to get iced, eh?"

"Tell me about it, Tim."

"Ahem." The technician said to get their attention, "There were also a couple catwalk mounted riflemen who were killed by falls," he looked at Kim, "To be fair, they weren't your direct actions; it was side effects of sending _others_ down the catwalks. And knocking the sniper's jackknife out of his hands."

One of the women who had been downed like that gave Kim a look, putting her fist to her chest and letting her tongue loll out, before winking... or at least, Kim thought it was a wink.

"The rest were KO's or weren't taken down," the technician finished, "To be fair, it went about as expected, except for the fatality parts on Project Safeguard."

Ron gave a little shrug; "To be fair, Kim knew it was a sim, or they probably would of gotten her trying to get me out of there."

Rufus, who was sitting on Ron's lap, gave a little "D'awww".

"Well, we were supposed to be faking villains along Shego's line of work," Kim countered, "So I had to play it cool and not do that. If it wasn't a simulation, well... things would of been a lot bloodier."

Wade glanced at the technician, who coughed into his glove, "Anyways; you'd best all head down to the med bay, make sure the simulation did not do any damage to your nervous systems. I'm still not sure it's completely safe."

XXX

**1 Hour Later...**

**PBD Firebase **_**Alternate-3**_**, Nevada Desert**

Kim clinked the small glass with Ron and Wade, and the three drank down the water; none of them were old enough for any other drinks at the firebase. Rufus was snacking down on the bag of chips they'd bought from the rec room's vending machine. Other PBD soldiers were chuckling, describing how the simulation went, or just chatting about recent events.

"Well, that went well; I think Safeguard's a go." Kim said afterwards, putting her glass down.

"Bit unusual seeing really good GJ operatives," Ron commented, "I mean, consider Will Du; he _was_ their top agent."

"Marksmen need work though," Kim commented, "You'd think they graduated from the HenchCo Academy of Villainous Marksmanship. Except for the sniper."

"Ex-Marine." Wade explained, "Had to hand in the _Semper Fi_ since Safeguard is a GJ, and that means it's a UN operation."

"Explains why we never see GJ agents handling threats the army usually is involved with." Kim remarked, thinking of the US soldiers in Iraq, "They leave it to the CIA and all those guys."

"Yeah," Ron commented, frowning, "Almost feels like we're in a different world."

They all paused; Kim seriously considered the thought for a minute... then they all laughed. "Different world? What is this, some kid's fan story?"

"Nah," Wade said, chuckling, "Just some crazy conspiracy theory about a plot to keep super-powered stuff from intervening in day-to-day activities."

XXX

XXX

**UN Meeting Hall**

**New York City, USA**

Brigadier General Adrian Malta, formerly of the United States Military and now a general of the Power Busters Division, inhaled as he went through his speech again, remembering the key points of his proposition; _Threat all the supers have, the need to get a lid on it before we have a comic book world on our hands, and the original plan to keep a lid went straight to the devil._

"General; the Security Council is ready." said one of the guards.

"Thank you," he said, before opening the door. The meeting had been extended to others; he noted a number of additional members were sitting nearby; because the original Project _Global Containment_ had been a many-nation effort, meetings involving it included the representatives many nations involved. He entered and nodded, greeting each member politely, before moving to the floor.

"Gentlemen, ladies," he said, inclining his head, "Thank you for hearing my case about the need to renovate _Global Containment_ in response to recent events." He inhaled; here was where it was going to be ugly if the politicians didn't listen to him, "Unfortunately, as you're aware, the plan to ensure both heroically inclined and anarchically inclined 'supers' into GJ and WWEE and ensuring they had defective support by using agents in "HenchCo", while simultaneously keeping them occupied with each other as to prevent it from spilling into the world at large, has failed despite our best efforts. While certainly the actions of the teen hero Kim Possible managed to keep supers from revealing themselves properly by giving the media something to focus on, without revealing our projects to contain such and maintaining the masquerade, events have had far too many close calls." He began to pace a little, but only taking a step to the side to readjust himself.

"The media has gained reliable information on the existence of various individuals with abilities that this council has defined as, to use the current nomenclature, 'super'. Our previous efforts failed but had not failed to a degree that had risked the world. Unfortunately, because of the recent reveal of many super-powered individuals, many whom had previously remained hidden, especially those with malicious intent, have begun small conflicts across the globe. PBD, Power Buster Division, our initial attempt at a superpower busting strike force has fared poorly, and is insufficient to ensure that supers are contained or that our research into these metahuman phenomena's are kept safe from said supers. _The world is at risk_, ladies and gentlemen. While now the supers are able to curb each other, it is only a matter of time before _unofficial anarchy_ begins."

He heard some surprised sounds; "I understand, Mister Fredricks, that you are in possession of minor cryogenic abilities," a fact that _was_ known by all present, as he was a proponent for the GJ/WWEE containment strategy on basis of his minor abilities after a freak lab accident near his home, "And I applaud the fact that you're willing to use them for the right purpose, and exercise control. But with the recent exposure, many children who have been subject to accidents or other sources are going to begin manifesting, especially since a number of these 'supers' have begun to start families, and these abilities, according to our research-based projections, will be passed down the family bloodline... and at a young age, they are vulnerable to their abilities misfiring, especially in schools or other public areas. Every one of these supers is a potential _time bomb_. Every time a super creates a doomsday device, each time they are foiled by another super, but only with seconds to spare. The world has been at risk far too many times, and we have not had a proper hand in stopping such _from happening in the first place_. We have enough concerns already with rebuilding the destruction caused by the recent extra-terrestrial attack while simultaneously reassuring the world that we won't have another repeat of the lack of ability to fight such. We have to, while we still possess a chance, to revitalize our strategy against the potential threat of super-powered individuals. Project _Safeguard_ is a step in the right direction and should eventually set a new standard for PBD, but we need a much more organized and _global_ organization." He took a breath.

"The secret of supers is held thinly; not everyone believes they're as widespread as they are, but the masquerade is failing fast. It's a _short time_ until the secret is out undeniably, and people will be _caught in these battles between those defined as 'heroes' and 'villains'._ We have to have a lid on this threat before it becomes an explosive issue. I respect what the United Nations stand for, but this matter cannot be handled by letting 'heroes' such as Kim Possible handle it _every time,_ she's a freelance wildcard, despite her good intent and desire to work for a better future, and that means she _cannot always be there_. In the past she could, because there were fewer rogues in the known, but now there's many more, and while many more 'heroes' rise up to face it, the _world is not ready_."

He exhaled, "As such, I'm purposing that, effective as soon as possible, we use what resources have already been pooled into project _Global Containment_ and redirect it to form a registry so that we can properly track _all_ superpowered individuals. Those who refuse to comply will be brought in on charges of, in example, treason, but the specific crime will be dictated by the country that the refusing party has citizenship. In preference, a charge of severity for non-registration. Scientists should, when the resources become available, work on methods of surprising these powers consistently without interrupting regular daily lives, such as concealed implants, again, in example. Registration would be mandatory, and when possible, to keep use of the powers, to use them in a UN or government organized capacity should be required, as determined by the UN security council as a whole for all who follow UN Mandates, while those who refuse would, while the technology for suppressing powers is unavailable, be forbidden to use the powers and would be, by law, expected not to use the powers unless absolutely necessary. In addition, a new generation of PBD answering directly to the UN Security Council, should be established to bring in renegade supers and to enforce the peace _in regards to superpowered incidents, _and would possess no jurisdiction outside of such or as defined by the United Nations."

He looked at each person in the room, "I understand that this is a major shift of policy, but we cannot afford to remain primarily hands-off anymore; we have to organize now while we can, and ensure that when the time comes, humanity will be able to remain stable even as these 'supers' begin to fight in the streets. We have already seen examples on local levels, but I fear it is only a matter of time until it becomes, for lack of a better word, an epidemic. Ladies, Gentlemen, as a general, I ask you to seriously consider this threat to the stability of the free world. As a father, I ask you to consider the futures of our children; if my son was a super-powered individual, I would do my best to ensure that he could still live a normal life, and enforce self-control so he could do so, but if I had to, _I would do what was necessary to maintain the peace,_ as defined in all current articles of conduct. I'm asking that we prevent parents, friends, and fellow human beings from being forced to _chose_ between doing what is right in two different ways. This is a grey area, I will be the _first_ to admit it, but I have my stand on this option, and I am not alone. You have received a petition of a number of individuals in various disciplines; military, civil, corporate, and more, expressing concern over this matter. I ask that you listen to the pleas for a stronger method of containment; the time of simply using cunning guile is coming to an end, we now have to be willing to enforce the peace, and protect those who would be dragged into these conflicts, conflicts they have no interest in." He inclined his head, "Thank you for hearing me out."

"You are welcome," answered Fredricks, who was the spokesperson as far as this area of the Security Council was concerned. As Mister Fredricks was a Frenchman, General Malta had to admit he was one wily rogue, but a rogue who had the best intents in mind and obeyed the UN's mandates that he had sworn to uphold. "And thank _you_, General Adrian Malta, for expressing these concerns on behalf of the concerned."

_My cue to leave,_ he knew, and inclined his head again, before being gestured out by a guard, who gave him a respectful nod.

XXX

XXX

**PBD Firebase **_**Alternate-3**_

**Nevada Desert, Nevada, USA**

Kim rolled her shoulders as she watched Ron working out in the base's gym; he'd been trying to properly tap into his abilities, but even though he was able to during the lorwardian attack at graduation, he'd had difficulty in tapping into them again. _He has been a much better fighter, though,_ she mused as she watched him get slugged by the training dummy bouncing back after a punch to the face. She smiled and shook her head.

_Beep-beep be-beep._ She answered; "Hey W... oh, hey Tara."

"_Hey Kim,"_ Tara, the blond cheerleader in Middleton High, at least, until she graduated, same year as Kim did, a mere two months ago; "_Wade gave me your contact info._"

"Look, if this was about leaving Middleton before reconstruction fin..."

Tara laughed, interrupting her, "_Don't be silly; we all knew you'd get called away. Your brothers though... they've been really doing some amazing tech work; I've never seen anyone short of Wade do that kind of work. We're still running the town on that makeshift battery they set up at Graduation. The town hasn't finished rebuilding the local power plant yet, so that's a good thing._"

"Oh, good." Kim said, relieved. She hadn't told anyone about her decision to help the new PBD project, _Safeguard_; she wanted to avoid thoughts of betrayal, though her parents knew, since she'd been with them before she left Middleton... _Not one of my brighter moves,_ she mused as she thought it through now, _not telling them was probably worse. Besides, we need to get Ron to Japan anyways so he can get that training done. Can't really say "Sorry, gotta get Ron secret ninja training at the school we exchanged with back in sophomore year!"; the weirdness we get away with isn't infinite._

"_Anyways; Monique mentioned something about college troubles; something about all the new 'supers' kicking around?"_

"Oh, I forgot about that," Kim answered, "I had to admit, I'm a bit surprised there's so many."

"_Well, scuttlebutt says some folks in Middleton aren't exactly happy about it. The same ones who had problems with you._"

"Ugh, don't remind me of the 'restrain the freaks' movement after the Prom."

_"Sorry, didn't mean to bring up memories. I just still get how they could just start wanting you in bars after saving their sorry-_"

"Hey, Kim!" Ron shouted on her end, sweaty and with a mild black eye, "That Tara?"

Kim gave Ron a dirty look, before glancing down at Tara, "Yeah; well, people are like that sometimes, just like I can't turn down a person in need. Like a program, ya'know? Actually, I'm kind of glad to know there's more people out there; knocks off a lot of college worries I have; there's others willing to take a stand when I can't be there."

"_I hear that; frankly, you deserve a break after all you've done._"

"I'll take the chance if it comes." _No strings attached, of course..._ "Probably see you before we head off to college, we'll be back in Middleton soon."

"_See you then. Later Kim."_ Tara hung up.

"So," Ron asked, "Still worried about scheduling in college?"

"Yeah," she answered, leaning against the window, "I guess I got too deep into the hero-work, huh?"

"Ah, little chronic hero syndrome isn't bad. You're aware of it, that's someone most folks with it can't say. Besides... it's one of the things that makes you beautiful." Ron answered, gently putting a hand on her cheek. She smiled... then something smelly caught her attention...

"Shower first, Ron," she answered, wrinkling her nose, "I think you got one too many hits in the head."

Ron looked puzzled; then seemed to think about his romantic pass... then Rufus, who was on the floor, nodded rapidly. He shrugged, "Well buddy, guess love has its demands."

"Oh yeah, oh yeah." Rufus answered, hopping back into the pocket on Ron's football sweat pants. Kim smiled as she watched him go, smiling to herself.

XXX

**Twenty Minutes Later**

As they walked down the hallway, Kim glanced behind her; Wade was coming up, holding a small box...

"Kim, Ron," Wade said, "Looks like you're needed."

"Where?" Ron asked, "Geneva? Japan? Siberia?"

"Locally, actually," Wade answered, "You recall the news on a lot of 'supers' being revealed?"

"Yeah, I was one of them, remember?" Ron answered, "Though I'd always been 'known', they just thought I was a sidekick who tagged along with jack nothin' for powers."

"Well, it turns out that there's a group of mystics who've been living in seclusion nearby; before the Firebase was set up after the Graduation Attack, they protected the area and managed to drive off one of the walkers, and saved the local towns. General Simms just sent a case with a few award ribbons; he's respecting their request to remain anonymous, but he wants them to know we appreciate the aid."

"Sounds like an easy enough stich," Kim asked, frowning, "They just want a big name for it, or is there something more?"

"Actually, there is. Dementor just got his hands on a HenchCo mobile synthodrone production facility based on schematics that were 'outsourced' from Drakken after the Lil Diablo incident; we're not sure where it is, but we know it's nearby. They're sending out patrols, but for now they want you two to bring these over. Sloth's all set, but you'll have to approach on foot."

Kim nodded, taking the box from Wade, "We'll stay in contact. Tell me if anything goes south."

XXX

**Thirty Minutes Later**

**Nevada Desert**

Ron fanned his face; "Man, never get used to the heat." He took a step into the outcropping rocks... and heard a squish, _Oh you're kidding me_, "Ugh," he recoiled in disgust as he looked at the bottom of his shoe, "for crying out, what is this stuff, camel dung?"

"Horses probably, camels aren't native to this region." Kim answered as she looked at the literal pile of shit Ron had stepped in. The Sloth, with Wade remotely controlling it, drove back to the Firebase where it'd wait until they finished the delivery. "Come on, we're going to be out here for a while."

Ron nodded, scraping the horse droppings off of his shoe on a rock and pulling his backpack. He was carrying a dozen bottle waters in there while Kim had the small box of award ribbons along with one of Wade's new gadgets: a small 'Sentry' robot if they needed to sleep for a while in the wild. Ron wanted to see how it did, but he knew Kim would hope it wasn't necessary. _I think..._

They walked on, climbing through the rough terrain relatively easily. Taking a sip from the bottle he had in his hands, Ron felt Rufus bumping in his pocket as they walked on. He was used to it, but it always felt a little funny considering where the naked mole rat was near. Especially when Rufus hit in the wrong spot. _Ouchie. well, least he's not a cat. They _step_ on your balls. While you sleep!_

He took a glance at Kim again as they walked on; she had a hat on, a simple baseball cap and her hair was in a ponytail to offer some protection from the heat. _Wonder why all these ancient magic dudes live in remote places, I mean, come on, that's gotta make trips for groceries irritating. Especially when they forget the milk._ He glanced around as Rufus stiffened, and he pulled out his grappling hook, looking around as he stopped.

"What's wrong?" Kim asked, stopping as well and forming fists.

"Thought I saw something," Ron answered as he scanned the area with narrowed eyes, "Rufus stiffened up as well."

"Doesn't he do that napping?" Kim asked, frowning as she looked around.

"Not usually."

They paused for a few more seconds before Kim shrugged, "I'm not seeing anything. Mirage?"

"Probably," Ron said as he took a sip. "Want some?"

"I'm fine for the moment," she answered, wiping a few droplets of sweat from her forehead, "Come on." She gestured, and walked forward.

XXXX

"KP," Ron finally said as they reached a sheer cliff, "I'm having a hard time believing these guys came out and beat a walker off of several towns considering how far we are from any town, and rough dirt."

"They said mystics," Kim answered with a shrug as she pulled her grappling hook out, "Probably have magical methods or just have concealed passages. Come on," she was aiming for a rock above, and took the shot. The hook sailed into the air and latched into a rock; Kim pulled it experimentally, and then let it pull her up as Ron did the same, the cliff face was too large for him to use his rocket boots to soar up with.

_Please don't lose your pants again..._ Kim thought as he aimed. Ron pulled the grappling hook...

And _against all odds_ his pants stayed on. Relived, he quickly rappelled up, leaping up the cliff as he was pulled up. Kim was surprised he finally didn't lose his pants as he pulled himself to the top.

Suddenly, she heard a crunch in the bush, and turned, raising her hands in a combat stance. A pair of synthodrones with Dementor's markings on them marched up out of the bushes as she held the stance out of honed instinct. "That's it?" Kim asked disbelievingly, cracking her knuckles. She rushed forward, hitting the first synthodrone in the face and knocking it down before turning and kicking the other one in the chest, knocking it back as well. The first got up and tried to rush, but Kim hit it in the face again and put her arms around its neck and pulled, ripping enough of a hole for the goo within to spill out.

"_Synthodrone number 842 will terminate oper..."_ it didn't finish as it was now a pile of goo. Kim was already finishing the second synthodrone off, hurling it off the cliff face, and then she heard a shout.

"Aw man!" Ron said as the thrown synthodrone accidently pulled at his belt. With mortifiaction, his pants fell and revealed his _Everlot_ boxers. Rufus came out of the pants and scurried over to grab Ron's belt, bringing it back as Ron blushed, "Heh, no worries KP, it was an accident!"

"I'm sure," Kim responded with a smile as she put a hand on his cheek, and she moved closer...

"Synthodrone!" Ron shouted before Kim could finish. She ducked and turned to the side and Ron was already rushing forward. He barreled into the synthodrone, punching and kicking. They rolled into a wall-like rock and Ron had it in a corner. It kicked wildly, sending him back, but Rufus was already close and the naked mole rat bit down into the synthodrone's foot, and it melted out of that gash. "_Synthodrone number 661 is terminating..._"

Kim shivered; she never was used to the cold reporting every synthodrone echoed when melting down. Ron glanced up, shrugging. "So..." he asked with pursed lips, "what were you saying?"

"Oh, nothing. Come on, we have some ground to cover. Actually, toss me a water, would ya?"

Ron slipped the backpack off of his back and opened it, tossing a bottle over. Kim caught it easily and took a brief drink, avoiding putting it to her mouth before putting the cap back on and tossing it back. Ron caught it with the skills he had honed as a running back and put it back into the backpack, fully sealed. They continued on, following a rough dirt trail under the balmy Nevada sun.

As they walked, Kim looked around for more ambushes, as after the encounter with the synthodrones she wasn't taking any more chances. Five minutes later, they spotted two more synthodrones that seemed to be patrolling. One was heavily armored with the gold-colored variation that Kim recognized as Dementor's _Balmung_ battle armor; _Great, that's going to take some power to punch through,_ she thought, thinking back to the last time Dementor employed it for his henchmen. _Alright, last time I aimed for the head or went for a groin attack from below... though those were for Dementor's goons, not drones, which means the male anatomy isn't going to help me at all..._ she frowned as she considered how to attack it.

"That's a new kinda drone..." Ron commented, kneeling behind the underbrush next to her, "So, what's the plan? Hit 'em quick and hard?"

"I was thinking that," she answered as she fished around her pocket and pulled out the laser lipstick Wade had given her. She smiled, "I'll need to get close though, it's not very good at range. Should drill right into the head before it can hit."

"Right," Ron said, cracking his knuckles, "I'll get the normal drone. Ready?"

"Whenever you are." Kim nodded and leapt over the bush, sprinting at the armored synthodrone, keeping the lipstick palmed so it thought she was going in for a hand-to-hand attack.

_"Get her!"_ the drone shouted, turning and bringing its armored arms to bear, but Kim slid under and kicked it from below, getting under it's block and knocking it backwards. She slid the lipstick to a better position and jumped up, coming down with a kick and she activated the laser lipstick at point blank, melting the synthodrone's face and opening a hole for the goo to spill out, burning some of it as she burnt out the back of the drone's metallic skull. She leapt off before the arms crashed down with a thud as the drone reported it's failing in a pained monotone. Ron was blocking hits from the other drone before punching it in the face, causing it to stagger and fall after Ron applied a sturdy kick to the shin. Rufus popped out of Ron's pocket and leapt onto the downed drone, biting it in the face and tearing out one of the photoreceptors like a predator. Rufus spat it out, using his hands to pull green goo from his teeth.

"Bleh! Synthodrone!" Rufus said before coughing out some more.

"Yeah buddy. Here, wash it out," Ron pulled a bottled water out of his pack and held it low. Rufus grabbed the top and tipped it down, filling his mouth, swishing it around, and he spat it out before he hopped back into Ron's pocket.

Kim glanced at Ron before taking another, closer look at the synthodrone's armor; _Definitely Dementor's handiwork. Guess he'd be the one to take Drakken's designs and upgrade them, least they aren't armed._ She called Wade, "Wade, we found some new synthodrone type."

"_Really? Alright, hold the Kimmunicator over it; I'll scan the wreckage and see what I can find out."_

She held it over, and the built in scanner scanned; Kim moved her arm up and down over it a few times. Wade was frowning as he received the data, then said, "_Can you scan any other drones you encounter? Dementor's been busy. Real busy._"

"Sure thing, Wade," she answered.

"_Alright; I'll start my analysis. For now, get those award ribbons to those mystics. Best not expose yourselves anymore than you have to."_ Wade nodded to her, and hung up.

She glanced at Ron, and shrugged, "Well, we'd better keep going."

They continued along the trail.

XXX

**PBD Firebase **_**Alternate-3**_

**Nevada Desert, USA**

Wade frowned as he looked at the schematics, _Alright, I really wanna know where Dementor gets the funding to do this kind of work. I can't even do this much on the 'budget' I can get..._ he didn't have a full copy, however: damage done by Kim's attacks had utterly destroyed core systems located in the head. _I'm going to need samples of that,_ Wade mused, looking at another part of the scans, the gauntlets...

"Whoa," he said, magnifying the segment. _Great, one punch from those and Kim's going to be in a lot of hurt..._ He began taking deeper scans and started his simulation programs. A reconstruction image of the drone was shown in one corner and Kim in the opposite one. The drone activated the gauntlets and rushed her. Normally, the simulation would of ran Wade's predictor programs for Kim to maneuver and try to use her dexterity from cheerleading to avoid blows, but he override it and only had her block for the purpose of tests.

The drone slammed into her with one of its powered up fists, overpowering Kim's block and sending her into the wall literally. Wade pulled up the calculations, pausing the simulator, and started calling up all the theoretical math that was going into it...

_These gauntlets were _really_ designed with hurting people in mind,_ Wade thought as he pulled up some of the other schematics for gadgetry he was designing; _Well, I did want to give Kim a set of combat gauntlets,_ he mused, smiling as the thought connected. _Kim gets enough samples of the tech and I could probably make a set too. Still need more samples on that _Balmung_ armor. I really wonder how Dementor makes it so light without making it weak._ He shut down the predictor program and returned to analyzing the new drone again, looking for any weakness' besides Kim jamming laser lipstick up its mouth. _Or what passes for a synthodrone's mouth,_ Wade drearily thought.

XXX

**UN Meeting Hall**

**New York City, USA**

Mister Fredricks nodded and gave his final say in this debate, "While I agree General Malta raised valid points, I'm not sure how to reasonably implement this in any short period of time. So, I move that we, at the moment, vote against this resolution in its full detail and rewrite it to a milder approach so we do not compromise what the UN stands for, yet still prepare for when this becomes an issue. General-Secretary?"

The General-Secretary nodded, "Those in favor of General Malta's resolutions?"

Several hands raised.

"Those in favor or his resolutions _not_ passing?"

Most of those present raised their hands.

"Very well; the resolution has failed. Mister Fredricks, would you inform General Malta? As he's running a PBD Firebase, it's right that he knows his resolution has failed, but we are making alternative resolutions that are similar, but less intrusive."

He nodded, "I'll do so after this meeting is done."

XX

**PBD Firebase **_**Alternate-1**_

**Upperton, Colorado**

Brigadier General Adrian Malta glanced to the left as his radio buzzed. He answered, "General Malta, Number 1138; pass code: _Selena_."

The radio turned on, and he answered, Mister Fredricks appearing on the small screen attached to it.

"Mister Fredricks," he said, nodding politely, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"_I have information on the resolution you wished to pass;_" Fredricks began, "_We are in agreement that measures are necessary in response to the recent influx of 'supers'."_

He felt his heart rise; hopeful that his resolution would work.

_"However, we determined that the sudden shift in policy is not the wisest course, and are going to be drafting a slower switch to similar efforts, but without using the more intrusive methods suggested. It's not to say your resolution has no merit, but it was a sudden shift in policy that we would be unable to enforce. PBD will be continuing its revitalization, however, so that when we have the new regulations in place, they can and_ will_ be enforced."_

"I understand, Mister Fredricks. Thank you again for hearing me out."

_"In the meantime however, the Security Council wishes you to, in your own base, work on creating a model for the next generation of PBD, much like Project Safeguard is in Alternate-3. I take it you're better foundation of recruits and proper military experience will allow the forging of a better corps."_

"Thank you, sir. I laid the groundwork in preparation, but did not begin operations."

"_In anticipation of your resolution working, I presume."_

"Correct."

"_Very well; I'm glad you chose to wait. I'd hate to have to send the cheerleader to take you down."_

The two chuckled; he knew the threat was empty; in fact, he knew that Kim Possible was aiming to join GJ and knew that she still thought PBD was a Global Justice division. Technically she was right, PBD _was_ nominally part of Global Justice, but they didn't fall under the authority of their leader, Dr. Director. _Well, Kim's the kind of lady we need these days._ Malta mused,_ Shame her boyfriend went meta-human on us; the two would of been a great example of why we don't need supers and a rallying point to show we can do things without 'em. Ah well, I'll take the cheerleader, especially once she's got some actual military training._

"I should return to my revitalization operations, Mister Fredricks. Thank you for calling me personally on this matter."

"_You're welcome, Adrian. Also; my condolences. I'm aware tomorrow is an important day for you."_

He nodded, blinking a tear away as he remembered the vivid details again. "Thank you, again. It means a lot to me."

He glanced at the picture of his wife on his desk; _Important indeed,_ his eyes closed as he blinked a tear out of his eyes as the memories came back,_ it's been a year since she was killed._ He remembered it vividly; a fight between one of the supers who'd come out of nowhere to try and stop the villain known as "Pyro Pete". His wife was caught in the crossfire walking home as ice and flame met. By the time the police got there with SWAT teams, Pyro had been subdued and was easy to arrest, but it was too late to save his wife from the rampage. Worse, the cryogenic "hero" had disappeared after Pete was frozen solid and with no solid enough images for an ID, he got away scot clean. The battle had caused considerable collateral damage in the sleepy town that he'd grown up in. Pyro Pete had been imprisoned for life in Cell Block D, but the justice felt hollow to him because the police, even with SWAT teams, couldn't respond to such a threat. He'd still be waiting for Pyro to break out with a full volley of fire considering other villains had regularly broken out of the facility.

That day he'd sworn that no one else would have to go through what he did because there were no regulations on powers; he was already an army general at that time and was approached by Mister Fredricks about PBD. With consent from the high-ranking US Generals aware of project _Global Containment_, he was transferred to PBD's USA division and based in the Upperton area. Technically speaking, he was on loan to PBD, but unofficially the transfer was effectively permanent. His division had been in shambles when he gained command of the Firebase in Upperton. He was amazed they could do _anything_ that at all involved in stopping any super-powered threat. It did not help that he'd taken command after a _cheerleader_, of all people, saved the world from the Lil Diablos. _NOT_ a team of SEALs, not a carrier group, not a Global Justice _Specter_ operative or any form of GJ agent, not any military force of any kind, but a _civilian cheerleader_ who hadn't even felt the complete joys of puberty yet. He'd been trying to transform his PBD base complement from a bunch of eager young kids fresh from the local high schools in awe of said cheerleader to a military force who could _kill _said cheerleader left (somehow) helpless and in cold blood if necessary. He figured that trying to get them into shape had shaved years off of his life from irritation alone. The number of incidents he had heard had occurred in Middleton had astounded him that these guys were nowhere to be seen in _any_ of the said incidents except after. And more often than not the Middleton police and it's SWAT team were on it long before PBD could get involved. And even with him pushing them hard, they still had a hard time getting to issues before they were resolved and the only thing left to do was to pick up the pieces.

He shook his head to try and push the memories away. _I have work to do still, takes more than a few months to really solidify them; they still have some ways to go._

He looked at the list of technology that had been extracted recently and was being issued out. _Those Electro-Gauntlets ought to be useful... but come on, why aren't we using assault rifles, and instead using those silly GJA line energy rifles? Are we trying to be_ kid-friendly_? Time's up for that, P-90's, that's where we need to be at. Still, the specs are interesting. Easily enough firepower in these gloves to punch through stone walls and protect the user's hands from side-effects of hitting someone that hard._ He paused, he knew it was expected to be outfitted by his PBD, but he was uncertain if they'd be used considering his teams used old-fashioned military equipment where they could and not fancy experimental tech like the GJA's (but that he had been overridden on). _Then again,_ he thought frowning, _half of the supers we're looking at have melee abilities, and most of _those_ have something to protect them from bullets..._ He pulled up the file on one of the supers that Global Justice had recently gained, unbeknownst that they were part of a what-should-of-been-expired masquerade to keep supers hidden from the world. The super in question was a normal GJ agent now operating under the codename _Shieldbash_. One look at his powers told the general all he needed to know. _Able to create energy after exposure to some WWEE energy matrix based on salvaged alien tech, which he channels into a shield-like form with a GJ designed gadget and his punches are amplified with such, he can even shoot energy blasts. And he's a bit eager to use them on hostiles. And GJ is going to use him to keep WWEE 'contained' in the Go City area? That's just what we need, isn't it? Maybe those 'Team Go' supers can keep him in line. Or maybe _Alternate-9_ will have its hands full, again. And to think we didn't build that firebase until _after_ Team Go had been affected by a 'Reverse Polarizer' whosiwhatsit thing. That hasn't been eradicated despite the very clear threat it poses._

His disgust kept rising as he read further files on supers, on both the side of GJ and WWEE; the fact that none of their supers had much in the way of restraint besides force applied by other supers was so... _exposed_ to him, there was nothing to keep them from breaking off and escaping the masquerade.

XXX

**Nevada Desert, USA**

Kim looked around then glanced at the map again, "Wade said this was the place they were encountered first..." she trailed off as something suddenly happened.

A dozen men appeared, aiming bows with arrows possessing a small onyx glow at the tip of each at them. Kim recognized their dress immediately as Native American, but it'd been a long time since her history classes and they never got into an extreme amount of detail.

Ron shouted in surprise, leaping backwards, his hands flailing in the air wildly. Kim turned, and realized that another twelve men were behind them... _Great; surrounded at all sides... great way to go, KP..._ she thought, annoyed at herself for falling for the trap, before raising her hands, open palmed. Another figure came from behind the line, carrying a spear. He eyed her, then gestured for the others to lower their weapons, saying something in one of the many languages the Native Americans had. _Before old-school Uncle Sam went and screwed them all,_ Kim thought grimly, recalling her US History classes.

The leader eyed her again, then, in English, asked, "Why have you come?" The accent was distinct, surprising Kim however. She wondered for a split second why she was so surprised.

Ron was glancing at every one of the archers, and Kim glanced out of the corner of her eyes; each one of the archers was also carrying a tomahawk with a similar glow. _Easy, keep it cool... just explain why you're here, give them the award ribbons, and leave peacefully. No need for a misunderstanding._

"I'm here on behalf of General Simms," she slowly slid her backpack off, "He and several other generals wanted to give you these;" she slowly opened the backpack, making it clear that it wasn't a hostile action, and picked out the box, opening it. "They're award ribbons, for what you did for the locals in the area. They know you wanted to remain anonymous, but they think you should at least have these."

The leader frowned, "Are those not awarded individually?"

"Usually, yes." she answered, "But we're only supposed to deliver them; you can distribute them as you would other honors within your... your..." she tried to think of the right word.

The leader smirked somewhat at her uncertainty, "Tribe." He gestured to the box, pointed down, then pretended to kick something gently, as if sending over a barrel or something.

"Right." Kim answered, feeling the heat rising in her chest. _Jeez, why am I so awkward about that?_ She wondered for a moment what the leader was getting at with his gesture, then understood. She pushed the box over with her foot, the box stopping about one-fourth of the way.

One of the warriors threw a glance to his friend, and his friend gave a light shrug in response.

"I will never understand white man," the leader said with a mix of ruefulness, but it was also conversational in nature, "It seems you change like the wind, like seasons. In one season you work for friendship, another you hunt us and drive our culture into the ground, forcing us to remain hidden and on 'reservations', and now another season you seek to 'honor' us." Ron was just watching, likely freaked out by the ambush. The leader rose a hand as he spoke, and the box steadily, as if moved by magic, slid towards him. He picked it up and nodded, "However, I understand that you, at the very least, are honest in your intent. Thank you."

"Uh... thanks? I think..." Kim rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. The leader chuckled briefly, before asking, "Now then; is there anything else?"

"Actually; yes." Kim said, remembering the second thing Wade said the local firebase wanted, "We found that someone got their hands on a machine for churning out synthodrones, we're not sure what he's doing with them, but he has a history of causing problems. We wanted to warn you, so you weren't blindsided by it."

The leader nodded, "We saw your encounters. Do not worry about us, if your spy satellites cannot find us, then we do not have much to fear of such aberrations."

"Yeah," Ron chimed in, pushing himself up as the warriors had withdrawn their weaponry in full. "Don't think you'll have problems; pointy things really hurt them, ya'know?"

The leader's face had a brief smirk flicker across, before he looked back at Kim, "I would be cautious, Miss Possible, you're friend is a disaster waiting to happen."

"In what sense?"

"_Diplomatic_."

"Hey!" Ron said, "I am not a diplomatic disaster waiting to..." he slipped on a rock, landing on his face, his pants (somehow) falling off again.

Kim put a hand on her forehead, closing her eyes in embarrassment. She heard the leader say something in his own native tongue. As she opened her eyes, the warriors disappeared as quickly as they had appeared, and as smoothly. She thought she heard another couple words, but she couldn't hear them properly. Fog set in, obstructing their view further.

"What do you think, KP?" Ron asked as he got up, pulling his pants back up, "Head back?"

"Fog's a bit thick to try;" Kim said, "Best we can do is try and follow our footprints." She glanced around... oddly, only their footsteps were present, but they had definitely given the box of ribbons, since her backpack wasn't half full. _Way to real to be an illusion anyways,_ she decided.

"Think they're trying to keep us from finding our way somewhere?"

She just threw Ron a look that told him all he needed to know. "Come on, let's at least try to retrace; worse case worse, we camp out. Soon as we're out of the fog, we call Wade to send the Sloth over."

"Still don't get how Wade can drive a car by RC and not drive one himself..."

"Wouldn't be surprised if he actually can, just not legally. Give him a few years or so, and he'll be legal."

XXX

**30 Minutes Later**

**En Route to PBD Firebase **_**Alternate-3**_

It was evening by the time they'd gotten clear enough for them to call Wade. He'd sent the Sloth back to where they started (Ron carefully avoiding the fly-covered horse poop this time), and Kim was driving the Sloth now. Rufus was sleeping on the dashboard and Ron was eating from a bag of chips he'd hidden under the seat... somehow.

She wondered about who those Native Americans were; she knew that the secret Ninja school in Yamanouchi, but she thought _that_ was an unusual case. _Maybe it's the rule now..._ she wondered briefly, considering the recent revelations of supers. She glanced at Rufus, and turned on the radio. Music for the default news station she had on played, and the news began.

"_This is Frank Williams, and you're listening to Radio News America! Well, it's been another day since the big slam back in late May, and things are still looking good."_

Kim scoffed, wondering what his definition of 'good' was. Not even a quarter of the reconstruction had been completed in Middleton last she checked, and while further elsewhere, quality of life was rougher than usual anywhere... _Of course, a 'quarter' translates into 'everyone's got basic living and amenities'_ _in Middleton..._

_"Anyways, we got our ace reporter Kelly Porkins talking with Mister Jilly Alvers of New Jersey, right outside the Las Vegas, Las Vegas hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada... ok Kelly, take this mouthful."_

_"Well Frank, I'm outside the Las Vegas, Las Vegas hotel; just forty minutes ago another super-powered brawl occurred outside. I'm here with the desk jockey, Mister Alvers. So, Mister Alvers, what happened here?"_

_"Well baby, some guy in a full deck of some sorta orange armor straight outta a comic book walked up; thought it was some freak convention going on; you know how we get booked with all the freak shows out here. Well, then some other caped babe showed up, gave some spat about power abuse and whatnot, then a brawl broke out! Right in front of me! They completely..." _[bleep]_ "...'ed the place up!"_

"Oh boy..." Ron said, putting a hand on his face, "That musta been a pair of the supers, hero and a villain."

"No kidding," Kim said, frowning as she adjusted the radio to clear it of static.

_"Do you know who they are?"_

_"Heck no; all I know is that both of them disappeared after they fought for a while; it was like seeing someone invulnerable takin' on someone who can lay down the _hurt_. And a lotta it; horrible accuracy though..."_ the Jilly audibly shivered; and Kim finally recognized him from the time she'd stopped Dementor and Drakken in Las Vegas, almost four years ago. _"Still, not the first time such happened. Few years ago..."_

Ron groaned, as if he expected their fight there to be brought up despite being over four years ago.

_"Anyways Frank,"_ the reporter, Kelly, said, cutting Jilly off, _"This has been one of many incidents in major cities lately between such individuals; always with a similar ending: Both either lose and escape, or one is brought down and left for the police to arrest. So far there's been nothing to warn such, and collateral damage remains high. All cities have begun pulling double shifts on their police and ordering all to stand ready to respond in emergency situations, establishing plans of action to respond, but such responses are still in development, leaving danger involved with these superpowered incidents high."_

Kim would of hit her forehead with her hand if she wasn't driving; _OK, maybe a good bit of collateral happens in my fights, but that's the bad guys usually, not me... right?_

"_Now, we've been polling lately. Eighty-Eight percent of the US populace is in agreement that something has to be done about this. Of them, forty eight percent agree that the measures must be strict, swift, and emphatic. UN General Secretary..."_ static_ "... eleased a statement; quote: "The UN will act and pass a resolution, but until that time, it is in a national, not international, jurisdiction." End quote; Brigadier General Adrian Malta is said to have, on behalf of the group known as "Innocents for Public Safety", drafted a resolution to act on such. The proposal is said to have been discussed in detail but eventually turned down in favor of a less, quote, "intrusive", end quote, resolution, but is likely to carry many elements over. Now, we'll be right back after these ads on Radio News America! I'm Frank Williams at RNA Studios."_

Ads for Cow 'n' Chow played, which Ron turned down in disgust. "Well, that's... interesting. Didn't Wade say this Malta dude wanted to suppress people with powers?"

"I think so." Kim said, shrugging her shoulders. "Personally, I think that people are worried. Can't blame them, really; you heard the report, it was a brawl in the middle of a possibly crowded area. Spontaneously. By the time anyone got there, they were gone, and damage was done."

"We've gotten in quite a few of those," Ron pointed out, frowning, as if disappointed in some hypocrisy.

"Not denying that, but usually that's because we're trying to find something or someone was trying to get _us_. It's not like we go around and randomly introduce someone's face to the dirt because they're wearing colors matching a gang or just out shopping; I mean, come on, Drakken and Shego went to Smarty Mart regularly and you never beat them up."

"Maybe; but I got a feeling some of these guys might. Still, they have some awesome powers. I mean, did you hear about that guy who had those energy powers that GJ just got?"

"Heard mention of it; wonder how Team Go is going to like him."

"Ah, long as he's a nice dude Hego'll like 'im." Ron said with a shrug. "Oh hey, home base, 12 o' clock."

"Shame we didn't get back before dinner," Kim commented with a smirk as she glanced at the dashboard clock.

XXX

**25 Minutes Later**

**PBD Firebase **_**Alternate-3**_

**Nevada, USA**

Kim rolled her shoulders after sitting down, looking at Ron and Wade. Rufus was sleeping in Ron's pocket, as usual.

"So, Wade, what's the sitch on these drones?" Kim finally asked.

"Well, Dementor is definitely using one of HenchCo's mobile production facilities to make them, they meet a specific standard specification matching the ad in _Villain's Digest_. There's probably groups looking for salvage to make more, based on what I know of it."

Kim frowned at that, recalling that HenchCo still hadn't had any government interference despite selling quite powerful equipment to various villains, and now it seemed he was expanding into basically selling the foundations for any villain to create something comparable to a small military outpost. _This is crossing the line... even for Hench. And right when there's chaos from after the lorwardian hit too... is he trying to set up a third world war made up of a series of superpowered skirmishes and governments trying to restore order?_

"Synthogoo is made up of just about anything," Ron commented, he had read Wade's report on synthodrone composition, written last year. "And the drones are about the same. Only dangerous in large numbers."

"Which they're designed to be in," Wade said, "and Dementor isn't just leaving regular drones; I won't be surprised if he starts equipping them as expendable versions of his own henchmen. A lot of it is programming though; the basic synthodrone program isn't capable of much besides attacking until ordered otherwise; they lack self preservation. Well, they lack enough to know when to retreat independently or let one of their buddies take over."

"Except for Eric," Kim said, squeezing her glass tightly.

"Well, he was a deluxe model," Wade retorted, "Drakken probably custom-built him."

"Yeah..." Ron said, giving Wade a look. _What's he giving W... oh. Right. Eric... the prom._ "So what'd you find from the scans?"

"Dementor churned out some new gauntlets," Wade said, "Hard to tell since I only had one scan of a damaged set, but it looks like a single punch would send you through a wall."

"Assuming they can hit," Kim answered with a smile, "I'm not exactly a still target."

"Actually, I'm more worried about GJ; these guys are going to be facing those drones soon, and I don't think they'd last in a melee, even if they've all got Electro-Gauntlets."

"Drakken _was_ surprisingly free with his shock-staff tech after graduation," Ron said, frowning, "Think he knew Dementor had this up his sleeve and didn't want him to get an edge?"

"Maybe that was his bargain for not getting jailed for the Hank's Gourmet incident." Kim answered, shrugging. "Well, I'm going to go to sleep; long day between the sim and getting ambushed in the desert."

"Sure thing KP," Ron said, "'sides, I want to talk with Wade."

XX

Ron looked at Kim as she walked up the stairs, and shrugged, "So Wade; how's the gaming going?"

Wade looked at him, "You were waiting for Kim to leave to discuss it, weren't you?"

"Hey, come on, we're both geeks."

"True," Wade said, smiling, "Kim walked in on you when you were practicing, didn't she?"

"Well, you could of beeped me about that mission."

"True. Didn't think you'd be playing _Tib Sun_ though, considering _Wars_ is out..."

"Hey, Westwood's awesome. And that was... what, January this year?"

"Oh, right," Wade said, shrugging, "Anyways, once I get my comp back home up, you up for some one-on-ones?"

Ron chuckled, "That'll be fun, Wade. Can't wait. Hope we don't get called all over the world, though... that'd be rough."

XX

**Dreamscape**

Ron was asleep, turning as he dreamed... he wasn't in a bunk anymore, but in a ruined townscape, disabled walkers littering the entire area.

_"Come Warmonga, we will take this one as a trophy, she will look handsome mounted next to your Thorgoggle spine..."_ Warhok said, holding Kim by her leg, smiling evilly as Warmonga walked up, smirking. He suddenly felt the raw power surge through, and rushed at Warhok, decking him into the building nearby, causing Kim to be dropped onto the floor... he grabbed Warmonga, his power visible to him, glowing blue, as he swung her around; Warhok came and crashed into him, but he resisted, and grabbed him to, and with the two, one in each hand by their fingers, he spun, and hurled them into their still coming-down ship, sending them through and blowing parts of metal everywhere...

_Wait, that's not how it went, we talked, and it wasn't just one fell swoop, and Sensei was... Sensei?..._ Ron thought, realizing that for some reason, his dream was summarizing the battle when normally it played it like a movie... suddenly, he was in a courtyard, clear and empty, with Japanese stone walls around with several buildings of Japanese style protected by the walls.

"Yamanouchi?" Ron asked aloud, frowning... "How the heck...?"

"Stoppable-san," said a deep voice behind him.

"Sensei?" Ron asked, turning, and looking at the short Japanese man with a white beard in a red robe with yellow accents along the cuffs and the central part; "Where am-"

"A dream," Sensei explained, cutting him off; "A medium some magic users can use to communicate when the recipient sleeps. What we do here has no effect in the material, but you will retain memories of this encounter."

"OK..." Ron said, unsure, trying to understand what he meant.

"I assume then that you question why I chose to communicate to you in this way. Let me just simply say that I am aware of the awkwardness that spiritual sending causes, and that it is not always the wisest. Without knowing where you would be, such is impossible to do easily. Not that it was simple to locate you in the fabric of dreams, either."

"Yeah... probably for the best; I'm sleeping with a bunch of GJ guys who sleep with pistols; and not just normal energy ones, Desert Eagles, which are, ya'know, _hand cannons_." He didn't try to sound rude, but the raw dryness of the comment couldn't be avoided.

"Indeed; I take it such would have a negative effect on the place you visit."

_Master of understatement..._ Ron thought with a flash of irritation before Sensei continued;

"I come to you, Stoppable-san, to inform you that you must seek out training, soon; I cannot teach you what you must know to become a master of _Tai Sheng Pek Kwar_ if you do not come."

"I know," Ron said, pacing in the dream, "But things have been hectic; these supers around have been causing problems, and Kim can't sleep without fearing that somewhere someone's causing havoc with their powers. We already planned a trip to Yamanouchi so I could start training, but it's not for another few days."

"I am aware," Sensei continued, "But I have to stress the urgency that you come for longer than the time discussed."

"Sensei, I'm world famous. In the past... I was just the sidekick, but after... after killing those two aliens... I'm up there with Kim; I can't just drop off the radar anymore like I used to. We only have so many excuses; heck, we're starting _college_ soon; I'm already paying for tuition, I can't just drop; it's been paid..." He really hated not being able to drop off the radar anymore; it was nice to be able to get some quiet. And having experienced Kim's live very briefly when the two switched brains, he knew that she would always be active 'till death with her kind of spirit.

Sensei sighed, "I was afraid of this. Very well, Stoppable-san, we will accelerate the training regimen, but I urge you to reconsider. A vine cannot bear fruit if it does not have the time to grow."

Ron nodded, "I understand, Sensei." _Fair enough, he wants me to consider, but I think my answer's staying final... some secrets are just hard to keep._

"Another thing;" Sensei said, smiling, "You've shown that despite the reservations of others, you may indeed be able to honor the path of a warrior, a master of _Tai Sheng Pek Kwar_."

Ron inclined his head politely, "Thank you; I just hope I live up to that expectation."

"Destiny would not have had you gain those powers if it did not have purpose, Stoppable-san."

_Destiny? I got these powers because Larry gave me a gamer reference and I used it... if _this _is Destiny's way of setting stuff up, it's got a sick sense of humor. Or is it irony? Ugh, maybe I should of paid attention in English last year..._

He wasn't able to think further as he slipped back into regular dream... a happy one, this time... Junior Prom; the kiss.

And, for once, she didn't turn into a synthodrone. A relaxing change of pace from previous runs of the dream.

XXX

**The Next Morning**

**July 9th, 2007**

**6:47 AM (Local Time)**

**Professor Dementor's **_**SECRET LAIR**_

_(__It's in Alaska__)_

Dementor grumbled as one of his henchmen moved off one of the damaged support beams. _That hero thief _really_ loves wrecking my lairs, doesn't she?_ he thought, _I wonder why I did not return to this lair sooner... right, the pretentious baboon had the ROBOTS I MADE FOR HIM WRECK IT, AFTER FRAULEIN POSSIBLE BEAT HER WAY THROUGH!_ He growled and grabbed one of the combat dummies that were purposefully left around so he could tear something up with his bare hands when he got angry, ripping an arm out of its socket, as well as let his henchmen practice. _Blustering swine, if he hadn't been stoned already, I'd of turned him into radioactive SH..._

"MYRON!" he shouted; and his brother in law came in, turning his attention away from anger towards his evil schemes, "Vhat is goingk on vith ze synthodrone factory ve recovered?"

"All set and churning out bots in Nevada, Professor."

Dementor smiled, "Good. Maybe I vas vrong about you, Myron. Maybe not a villain, but you make a fine lieutenant."

"_Sir!_" said one of his few female henchwoman, a Frenchwoman named Fantine, "Scans indicate the Gauss-tank is commencing field testing near where the Mobile Synthodrone Production Facility is located currently."

"Gauss tank?" Dementor said, frowning. "Gauss tank... I know I've heard zhat term before..."

"Isn't that that fancy magnetically-accelerated coil gun armed tank the Americans are working on in Nevada? The one our new guy got us info on?"

"Technically speakingk," Dementor said, "It is more a mass driver zhan a coil gun, vhich is vhat a 'Gauss' gun is... Fantine! PREPARE ZE BATTLEFIELD CONTROL! I VILL COMMAND THIS PERSONALLY!"

"_Yes sir. Establishing battlefield control; stand by in the command room, sir."_

Dementor smiled as he walked out of the current room and into the hallway, Myron behind him. "Vell, let's see how zhese synthodrones handle zhemselves against American military spendingk." he commented.

XXXK/RXXX

XXXK/RXXX

**End Chapter**

**- Effectively, I'm redoing my old "KP Legacy" fic for those who haven't noticed some similarities. Multiple reasons; **

***A: That was quite honestly my 'old shame', to use the TV Trope term, due to some of the failures on my part when writing. **

***B: The idea was solid, but my inexperience lead me to making **_**way**_** too many mistakes, and I was completely disorganized about it even if I had an idea of what I was doing, so I'm taking this chance to redo it with more experience. Expect similarities, but there'll be plenty of differences too. **

***C: Well, what can I say, age helps a lot. Three years since I did the original, and now I return. **

***D: Hindsight is a great ally, isn't it? Started writing before **_**Graduation**_** played, but now that I have the after and a few years, it's easier for me to write out without retroactively modifying things. Older and wiser, ya'know? I was like, 13 when I started writing... probably showed. Little font usage, and screwing my perspective breaks. I'll eventually remove the old version once this is really under way (IE, about where that version ended). Here goes nothin'...**

**- This is what TV tropes would refer to as a "wreck fic", or a fanfic that, rather than using the hammer of fanfiction to create new content, lovingly smashes it in a Deconstruction. I figure that this is a good way to sort of pick up where Graduation ended as Kim and Ron enter the adult world (well, properly enter it). I also embrace some of my personal wild-mass-guessing theories that there **_**is**_** a conspiracy to keep supers hidden in shows like **_**Kim Possible**_**, which came from me looking at some fiction and thinking **_**'How the heck is the secret not out already?**_**'. I always saw Warhok and Warmonga hitting Earth as a giant wakeup call, like a globally scaled 9/11, if you will. Aliens hit everywhere, supers sort of go 'alright, time to (wo)man up', and start scrapping with the aliens, just like in the comics. It's sort of the catalyst, if you will, for action to come. Middleton has always been a weirdness magnet, so why not include a government conspiracy to keep supers from interfering with day-to-day lives globally while I'm at it?**

**-PBD, "Power Busters Division", is how I'm portraying a lot of the blue-Kevlar and black-goggle equipped guards seen in various episodes, such as in "The Twin Factor" (Season 1) or "Bonding" (Season 3). They didn't look like GJ agents to me, assuming that the ones in "The Ron Factor" (S2) are anything to go by. (Well dang, 2 factors in two sentences.) I mean, to be fair, GJ **_**is**_** really incompetent considering Gemini singlehandedly defeated 16+ agents in one go in "The Ron Factor", though I assumed that was more their field agents than their other divisions (Spy sats, etc.). PBD is/was worse if you consider that a dozen got thrashed by Shego within seconds, but that's why they're revitalizing in the first place. They're technically part of GJ, but not under Dr. Director's command, and more handled at a national level (IE, USPBD, UKPBD, FPBD, USSRPBD) the distinction is basically "GJ is punching baddies out and blasting evil plans while PBD is more law enforcement/guard duty". Same thing goes for WWEE in the competence department, just opposite side of good/evil. The two factions **_**did**_** seem a slight too trigger-happy at each other's faces, and the fact that one of two twins lead their respective faction was funny to consider in further conspiracy theories.**

**-I semi-roll back Ron's abilities as shown in Graduation; if you read the previous 'version' of what I'm doing now, you know I explained that as a one-shot freebie as he properly unleashed his abilities; I also set that one **_**after**_** he'd gotten training. This is before he's gotten proper training in honing his abilities, so it'd make sense that Ron would have troubles firing it off on demand without a focus like Kim being in danger. (Besides, who **_**else**_** would get slugged by a bucket filled with straw mounting a pair of dummy arms? Besides Bonnie. and Wade. and Drakken.)**

**- When writing out Dementor's accent (and accents in general), I practically just make zhem typed out as how they sound, but when a speaker in said accent is thinking I drop it, making it easier to understand the speaker's thoughts. Really, I'm going to keep it close enough to English it's easy to understand with a few mild creative misspellings to give it a more accented feel, but it won't be incomprehensible (if it is, I just say it is). I dunno, I feel like you need to type some indication of accent if you know how to do so, so long as it's easy to recognize (IE, the 'z' instead of a 't' for words like 'That', or the 'v' instead of a 'w' for 'Why', to use Dementor as a example).**

**-As far as Dementor's goons go, I also make reference to the PS2 KP game "**_**What's the Switch**_**", and you can expect that and the Gameboy games' plots or gadgetry to get mentioned as well in passing or be used; DS not so much, since I haven't played them. This is for two reasons; on the henchmen, it's because I feel that it better shows how Dementor's minions are superior to those of Drakken due to having wider skill sets. Expect other villains to get a little more diversification as well in their minions, but nothing out of place; so Drakken's goons, for example, may start packing smaller shock sticks and trying out riot shields, or Gemini's guys may start using more Bond-like villain props. As for the plots; well, they tend to flesh out the series a bit more, and had some nice toys that expand on some of the one-shot gadgets used (for example, Ron using Diablo Sauce as an ingredient to breathe **_**fire**_**).**

**-Far as you need to be concerned about the 'future' dudes, the Archivist and Dorothy Lipski, they're just set up, literary devices to set a prologue (or, if it's chronologically after, is it a epilogue? Ah, whatever). Also justifies the pre-chapter quotations; basically it'd be Kim and/or Ron commenting on what's going on as if telling the story, as if recorded by some scholar with a lotta magic; like speaking with the dead, eh? If it's awkward; don't worry, I'll label whose saying it, but in a more conventional quotation manner. That was sort of a set up; the fanfic isn't being told first-person because I don't want to do that/can't, it's more being told in a novel format, but the pre-chapter quotes given would be like Kim reflecting on say, her first mission or the prom. Of course, more standard pre-chapter quotes (meaningful proverbs, hilarious one-shots, set up lines, etc.) are included in the package (now 99 cents at Smarty Mart!)**

**-There's obviously a reason why the 'future' is a few centuries into the future; no one lives **_**that**_** long. (No one human, anyways, magic or not...) The Archivist is kind of critical about us, he doesn't hate us, he's just a bit critical, representing a cynical look at our history, and weighs it against galactic history. Dorothy Lipski is descended from one of two known Lipski vil- er, men... I leave it to you to figure out which one. As far as that, she represents a human look at our own history that's critical as needed, but has a better grasp of how it scales to humans. I don't intend to do anything more with those two other then maybe a brief interlude, so I felt it best I explain them now.**

**-Oh, punch line. The books the Archivist use have a Latin language name; I originally took the class to help with writing the original KP Legacy fic, intending to use it as a 'control' language far as magic users were concerned, but that didn't pan out well as I realized how rough it'd be getting translations. Well, what goes around comes around I guess. *shrug* Hey, got my 'take three years of a language class' handled. I dunno weather to chalk that as irony or hilarity.**

**-PS: Not capitalizing 'lorwardian' because technically speaking, you're not supposed to capitalize a species name (IE, human, bottlenose dolphin, mountain lion, monkey, elephant, protoss). I'm going to avert that standard mistake early ;) (It does make seeing the word a little awkward, though, to be frank).**


	2. Chapter 2: Gauss and Check

_"It's always been odd... no matter how dangerous the situation gets, nothing lethal had really made contact. I kicked Shego off a building and into an electric pole which _collapsed_ on her and it didn't kill her! But now... ever since the lorwardian attack, it seems like whatever was keeping the lethality off was gone... the skirmish in Nevada was only a teaser of what was to come... makes me wish I stuck to babysitting sometimes... but not too much."_

- Kim, reflecting on the Nevada Skirmish, as recorded in her _Liber Memoriarum_

"_Yesterday, one of Team Go's older enemies, Aviarius, attempted to attack the city airport, only for Team Go to defeat them. The airport is closed until further notice as GCPD SWAT investigates and ensures that there are no remaining 'heat seeking hummingbirds' left. Unfortunately, Aviarius escaped the crime scene by threatening innocent lives as a cover. We take you now to the Go City Police Department for an interview with Police Chief Sanders."_

- News report on a super-powered battle in the Go City area

**Chapter 2: Gauss and Check**

**July 10th, 2007**

**7:00 AM Local Time**

**Barracks 1A**

**PBD Firebase **_**Alternate-3**_

**Nevada, USA**

_Beep beep be-beep_; Kim groaned as Wade called, rolling to the side of her bunk and grabbing the Kimmunicator; she was in the only barracks that had bunks for women (there were more men than women there, due to coincidence) "Wade... you know what time it is?"

"_Sorry Kim; but Dementor's drones are moving in on a nearby military testing ground; the alarm's going to go off in a second since Dementor is PBD's area of authority..."_

The various women in the barracks were groaning as they woke up from Wade's loud voice... Then the klaxon alarm went off with low, long beeps.

"Nice timing Wade..." Kim sarcastically commented as she looked around.

_"Well, meet me at the testing zone; I'll highlight the coordinates."_

Kim sighed, knowing that Wade was near Ron bunk wise so Wade would probably wake Ron up if the alarm hadn't already. She pushed the covers off and opened the locker, grabbing her mission gear.

XX

**1 Hour Later**

**Near the Gauss Tank Testing Zone**

**Nevada Desert, USA**

Kim nodded as she pulled out her second hairdryer that had been converted into a gadget, colored red with a distinct black coloring for the metal rather than grey, "OK Wade, what's the new mod you have for this one?"

"Electro-Magnetic Scrambler." Wade explained, "EMS for short;"

"Like the one I used to foil Lil Diablo and Dementor's stealth goons, right?"

"Right; there's some modifications though. Smaller EMS rounds, it's more like a pistol than anything, but it's just as good against small targets like stealth field generator equipped henchmen. Also good for busting anything with a hefty amount of electronics, like synthodrones, so you'll probably need it."

"You know I'm not a gunslinger, Wade," she commented with a frown, "Even if I'm a good shot."

"Hey, it's this, or trying to jam lipstick into every armored drone or using the environment to rip them open." Wade responded, "Besides, the worse it can do to a human is give them a mild burn and a shock... or, if you hit them in the groin, knock them into next week from pain alone." Wade winced at that, putting a hand protectively over his nuts.

"Right," Kim responded slowly and hesitantly as she holstered the new EMS into her other pocket, "So Wade, why you coming along?"

"There may be tech problems with the Gauss tank; besides, this is a good time to get some salvage or scan the drones you scrap. I'll stay out of the way; promise."

Ron shrugged, "Well, that'll make it easier. We can kick butt and chew bubblegum while Wade's scanning tech that we might use later. Sounds like a bon-diggity deal to me."

Kim just shrugged, "Come on, let's go. PBD can't do everything itself."

Indeed, PBD soldiers were already engaging synthodrones in the area, according to the blips on the Kimmunicator. _Here's a great way to start my day..._

XXX

**Secret Lair**

**(Alaska)**

Dementor shouted angrily, "No, you stupid drones! YOU DO NOT CHARGE A TANK LIKE ZHAT!" He bashed his head on the console in frustration as the synthodrones rushed the exposed Gauss tank as it was in the wide open... each drone that tried got blown apart as the rounds fired ripped through a dozen drones in one shot. _This is why I do not like using technology designed BY THAT PILLSBURY BLUEBOY!_

"_Sir, we've detected Kim Possible and her sidekick entering the area."_ Fantine reported.

"Fräulein Possible and her so-called boyfriend... vhere did zhey come from?" Dementor asked, irritated beyond measure now.

"_Unknown, they were likely were in the area when we began."_

"Of all ze rotten luck..." Dementor let the drones go on auto for a while as he thought... "Vhat can I use... vhat can I use..." He scrambled his mind for the blueprints he'd committed to memory... then remembered he had none of them nearby, and the MSPF could only make drones. _Of course, Drakken would keep it from being dual-purpose... this is what I get for using stuff made by that incompetent nincompoop..._ He turned, sighing. "Vell, I suppose I could disassemble ze factory and move it away while ze drones already there keep ze Americans busy... Hrrrrm. But then zhat hero thief will chase it down und have her computer geek track it's connection."

"Isn't there something we can get from staying involved, and just moving out anything they don't know about?" Myron asked.

"Hrrrm..." Dementor said, "Why... YES! Myron, you vill become a brilliant henchman, I think, if not more!" He smiled, looking at it, "Well, this would be a good time to test ze new drones, no? Fantine, have the factory use the materials it has available to construct ze knew _Blitztod_-armed drones. _I vant the cheerleader and her SO-CALLED BOYFRIEND TO RUN LIKE LITTLE BUNNIES_!"

"_Complying; production will commence once the last Standard-Issue synthodrone has been produced."_

"Good," Dementor said, smiling as he reassumed control. "Now, let's see if ve cannot maneuver zhese drones better, ja?"

XXX

**Near Gauss Tank Testing** **Zone**

**Nevada Desert, USA**

Kim punched the drone in the gut, causing it's systems to reflex like a human, giving Kim an opportunity to hurl it into a conveniently sharp rock pile nearby, causing the drone to melt. Ron was trading blows with another drone, fighting with more confidence than usual. She could hear the sound of the Gauss Tank firing; they were close. Wade was scanning one of the heavy synthodrones that she had taken down by breaking it's leg open. Ron suddenly was attacked by another heavy synthodrone, which picked him up like a rag doll.

"Hey wait... whoa!" Ron was sent flying, Rufus left behind, spinning in the air and getting thwacked away by the heavy drone, landing near Ron, while he was slammed into Wade, the two of them landing in a not so neat pile with Rufus landing with a squeak nearby.

Sighing, Kim turned to attack the two drones bearing down on her; she went for the heavy, sliding under it and leg sweeping it, causing the top-heavy synthodrone to collapse... nearly crushing her, but she rolled to the side before it hit the ground. The second drone advanced on her menacingly, but she went on the offensive, grabbing it and flipping it over, slamming it on top of the heavy and she pulled out the laser lipstick, jamming it practically into the drone's neck and turning it on, burning through...

Then she was knocked away by a sturdy push from the heavy synthodrone, sending her into the air. Landing on her back and having the wind knocked out of her, the drone advanced with its powered gauntlets activated, she slid to the side to avoid getting crushed by the drone's attack, not even bothering to try and hit through the drone's armor; she knew it was tough enough to make normal men (or as normal as Dementor's goons got) something close to invulnerable to her in direct hand to hand combat.

X

Ron pushed himself off Wade, "Dude, better timing..."

"Sorry," Wade said, "Didn't expect you to be a projectile."

"Yeah, that's a role usually reserved for Drakken's goons." He looked over, "Think we should help?"

"Nah," Wade said, "I'd just get in the way. I need to finish the scan anyways."

Rufus groaned before his eyes widened, seen by Ron by the corner of his eye; Rufus began chattering rapidly.

"Say again buddy?" Ron asked, turning... to see a half dozen synthodrones moving up, power gauntlets activated. _Oh crud..._ Ron thought, knowing that Kim was too busy with the heavy to notice. He started jerking his arms, "Come on, stupid monkey magic, fire off already..."

X

Kim ducked under the heavy, bringing her legs to swipe it out from below, and she rolled out of the way of its landing, jumping up and coming down with a solid kick, hitting it's face and breaking through, the circuitry and electronics crunching beneath her foot, which was now covered in synthogoo. _Gross..._ she thought as she pulled it out as the drone announced its terminated operations. She heard a distinct howling whistle... and looked up just in time to see one of Dementor's grenades flying at her!

Hand springing away, she evaded the explosion by a short shave, dirt kicked up by the explosion hitting her and getting into her hair.

"Hahaha! Bombs away!" shouted someone; Kim spotted him; one of Dementor's goons equipped with grenade-like explosives. _I'm just glad I thrashed most of them in Alaska,_ she mused as she began dodging grenades thrown.

"Come on, I've dodged plasma, chucked 'nades aren't a problem!" she taunted as she grabbed one of the grenades in mid-air and threw it harmlessly to the side. The good news was the grenade's didn't have a very lethal yield, but they still _hurt_. The grenadier shouted in irritation, then ran away as he threw his last grenade. Kim leapt over the grenade, the small yield not having the power to reach her at the heights she could jump. She landed on her feet, her legs buckling to absorb the shock of the landing, but Kim didn't notice; she was used to it after several years. She turned, and saw two more drones were coming from where the grenadier was. _That's what he was keeping me busy for,_ she mused, rushing the first drone, doing a handspring to propel herself at it frontally, her feet crashing into the drone, staggering it. She knocked it back by bicycle kicking in it as she came down, landing on her feet while the drone was kicked away.

X

"Come on... _come on!_" Ron said as he kept making increasingly crazier gestures to try and fire off his powers... the first drone was almost on him... He got punched in the chest, knocked back and on the ground. He leapt up again...

Suddenly, he felt the surge, and his leap became a midair summersault a mere twelve (point five) inches from the ground, his foot slamming down into the ground with an echo; he caught a flash of light blue that likely had surrounded him and heard a simian sound echoing off as he slammed his foot into the ground, and the ground in front of him shook, small shards of it splintering in a shockwave. It was not as far as he knew he could do, but it was just what he needed. The updraft of small stones ripped through the dozen synthodrones, causing them to begin to leak... _THIS I can handle,_ he thought, making a karate noise and charging the first drone, blocking the punch and returning it, knocking it into another drone and sending the two to the floor. Rufus cheered from where he was sitting, leaping onto the rear drone and biting it's head before leaping down from the falling drone.

Ron ducked as the third drone advancing punched high, the drone's feet becoming melted slushy as it tried to fight. Ron simply kicked it as he flipped backwards, knocking the drone over and stressing the body, causing the drone to rip in two... synthogoo sprayed all over him.

"caw, gross!" he exclaimed, wiping his shirt as he tried to get the goo out. The remaining two synthodrones had melted into nothing more than piles of green sludge.

Wade ran over and nodded to Ron, using some gadget Ron couldn't recognize to scan the drones for anything that'd be useful. _Well, Wade does like tech._

X

Kim slid gracefully under the drone's fisticuffs and hit it from behind with her elbow, causing it to stagger forward. She leapt at it and grappled with it, holding it by its sides as she pulled it around as the first drone recovered, and slammed the two together, causing them to land on top of each other like lovers making it.

"Get a room," she said smirking as the two drones untangled awkwardly. She rushed the second drone and threw it into the rocks, the strength put behind the throw causing the rocks to break through its skin and causing it to melt. The first drone attacked again, missing as Kim slid under and tripped it up. She came in from behind as the drone turned over, straddling it as she kept it pinned and punched it in the closest thing to a face synthodrones had, hitting it until her hand broke the relatively fragile cover. She pulled her fist, covering in goo, and shook it to the side as she got off of the drone, most of the goo coming off, but not all of it; some of it stained. She looked over to Wade, who was scanning one of the drones Ron had taken down. _Wait, where'd those drones come from?_ she wondered, before shrugging.

"Come on," she said, "We're almost there."

"Hang on," Wade said, scanning the most recently taken down heavy, "I just need to scan... alright, go on ahead, I'm just going to salvage the gauntlets, might learn something."

Kim shook her head, "Come on, Ron," she pulled him by his shirt.

"Hey wait, where's Rufus?" Ron asked, putting a hand in his pockets.

"With Wade," Kim answered, before a pair of heavy drones leapt out in front of them.

"I got the right one!" Ron shouted, rushing headlong into it and colliding with it, only to bounce off uselessly as the drone's _Balmung_ armor took the kinetic force and knocked it right back out. She knew it'd happen before Ron had even attempted it; she'd tried that before and it never worked, and it was against a real henchman too. Ron slid by Kim's feet as she charged, leaping into the air and landing on the left drone's shoulders, causing the other drone to bring it's fists down to try and hit her, only to crush it's allies' head.

_"Heavy-Synthodrone number 111 is suffering friendly fi..._" it melted as its head was split open like a watermelon hit with a two-ton hammer as the powered gauntlets hit. Kim landed behind the second drone, turning, but the drone had reacted swiftly and was already moving to confront her. She did a back handspring, getting clear of the heavy synthodrone, and drew the EMS. _This should slow it down,_ she aimed at it and pulled the hairdryer's trigger; a distinct electronically generated sound echoed as the EMS charge was sent out using whatever propelling system Wade used, and hit the drone in the armor, causing it to spasm in pain, the drone crying out in a voice that struck a faint cord of pity, "_Err-err-error!"_

She didn't waste time; she rushed the drone, coming from above and brought it to the ground, punching a hole into the head with several repeated punches, her hand again covered in synthogoo.

"Hey Kim I... whoa." Wade said, Rufus riding on his shoulder, "Yeah, I'll get scanning." With that, Wade moved to the drone Kim had beaten the pulp out of and scanned. Ron had pushed himself up and shrugged, before the two continued on.

They heard another blast as the Gauss tank fired again in the distance. They ran up, taking out the trio of drones that had charged them easily; Kim took the first one and used it to slam into the second while Ron tackled the third and brought it down. Kim's wrist Kimmunicator beeped and she answered; she had audio only as a soldier with a Seattle accent was shouting in horror;

"_This is Gauss-One; enemy are using some sort of new electric disc projectile... HOLY SHIT! SYSTEMS OFFLINE! THEY'RE BREAKING INTO THE...!" _Static consumed the rest of the message, but the scream was vividly in her memory now.

"Come on!" She shouted, sprinting forward and launched herself over a heavy synthodrone as they reached the test site; it was a large area with a variety of slabs marked with big bull's eye targets. Some were destroyed, others weren't. Huge piles of synthogoo was piled with the remains of drones that had been vaporized by the Gauss tank's coil gun... oddly, the tank itself, what looked to be an M1 Abrams modified to hold the system, was also stripped of its usual machine gun ports. _That was a bad idea,_ she thought, _the main cannon can't fire fast enough to hit all the drones..._

From a cliff, several disc-shaped projectiles were hurled at the tank again, the discs cackling with electricity as they flew; one hit the top of the tank, causing it's top hatch to open. Synthodrones rushed at it from the side, dragging the crew away as Kim threw another drone out of the way trying to reach them...

She felt a kick hit her from behind, sending her skidding into the dirt as she heard loud, horrified screams of men struggling, screams that were cut off with cruel snaps...

XX

**Dementor Secret Lair**

**(Alaska)**

"Vell," Dementor said, "Zhey actually got into ze Gauss tank. Have the drones get inside und turn it against Fräulein Possible!"

Myron looked at it; "Drones are losing though; watch her throw them around."

"Yes, vell, the soldiers are dead, _zhat_ will hurt her morally as she couldn't save them, despite being able to 'do anything'." Dementor snorted, "Hrrrm. Shame ve do not have anything to watch her cry over the corpses. That'd would be amusing."

Myron frowned, wondering if that was really a good thing to see. _Must be a villain thing; guess I'll get it eventually..._ still, it unnerved him.

XX

**Gauss Tank Test Zone**

**Nevada Desert, USA**

Kim rolled over as the drone tried to jump onto her, evading the drone and picking it up from behind. She flung the drone into a squad of other drones, causing them to entangle themselves in each other, giving her a chance to sprint towards the tank crewmen. A pair of heavy drones stood in her way; she drew the EMS and fired a round at the left one, leaping onto the head of the right one and jamming the next EMS round into its head directly. The first drone collapsed malfunctioning, while the second had its head _explode_, sending Kim back and onto the rear of the tank, covering her chest in synthogoo. _Gross!_ she thought, leaping off and picking up the next standard drone near the tank crew by its arm and spinning, sending it into another pair of drones.

_"This is PBD Patrol-3, we're almost there, Miss Possible!"_

Kim didn't answer, she just charged the next drone near the tank crew and knocking it backwards through sheer spite, punching it in the face hard enough she hurt her knuckles doing it and breaking through the fragile skin.

She heard Ron shouting "Booyah!" as he spun around, a brief flash of blue surrounding him as he punched a heavy drone in the chest, _staggering_ the superiorly armored drone and causing it to slam into the drones behind it, causing them to fall. Ron then went low, sending drones in various directions with a variety of maneuvers that he'd been practicing with her. She would of smiled at Ron's developed skills, if she wasn't fighting a heavy drone herself, avoiding the deadly gauntlets as it aimed to punch her into the next county. She slid under the drone, then brought her fists up in a dual uppercut, getting under the armor's protection and getting into the drone's unarmored weak spot. _That's... wrong._ she thought as she pulled her hands out and leapt up, kicking the drone in the face, before turning to another standard drone charging at her, which she slid under, tripping it, then punched repeatedly in the face until her hand was covered in even more synthogoo. _That's going to stain for good,_ she thought before looking around... there were no drones left.

"KP!" Ron shouted, "These guys are... ohmygod... they're dead!"

"_WHAT?"_ Kim asked, rushing over and kneeling next to them, checking the pulse of one of the crewmen; and she felt that his neck had been _snapped_.

She heard boots thud, and rose up, only to see a group of PBD soldiers coming up, covered in synthogoo. "Sorry we're late ma'am; Patrol-3 reporting for duty."

Kim nodded grimly, "Get these guys out of here... we need to confirm if they're alive or..." she swallowed, "Dead."

Ron looked at her, concerned. Wade was nearby, he wasn't bothering with scanning the drones, and ran to the side of the tank, pulling out what looked to Kim like repair tools. "We need to get this thing out of here," Wade said.

Kim rose, "Alright;" she leapt on top and pulled Wade up, and he slid into the tank. A PBD medic was checking the bodies, and she looked at her watch... Kim turned away from the sight, closing her eyes. It hadn't been very bloody for a death, even with the piles of synthogoo on them, and she knew it could be worse... but she hadn't seen death that up close and personal. Not yet.

Ron hopped onto the tank and put a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, KP, you alright?"

"Not really," she answered, blinking out a tear, "It's just... we should of been able to get to them."

"I know," Ron said; she couldn't see him, but she thought he'd turned his head. "Scares me too... I could hear the screams..." she heard him shiver, "Come on, let's see if we can help Wade... maybe check for any straggler drones."

"Hey, can you two come in here?" Wade asked; they slipped in. Kim knew tanks were cramped, but this was closer quarters than she was used to. Wade was wiring something, and he smiled as he finished wrapping tape; "Alright," Wade explained, "I think I managed to get the tank's systems on; we can drive this thing out of here."

"Where's the military?" Kim asked, "Their response time is _really_ slow."

"They're pinned down by drones about a kilometer and a half to the north; they found the synthodrones factory, but they can't get to it; some sort of turrets in the way and they don't have heavy gear."

"We can disable that," Ron said, cracking his knuckles.

"Better idea, the tank," Wade said, "I got the main gun working again; Kim, you drive, Ron, you load it, I'll keep the systems from overheating..."

"OK!" Rufus said, hopping next to what looked like a trigger. Kim glanced at Ron, and he shrugged, "Hey, we can do something."

"I dunno..." Kim said, "We're pretty much... no, we _are_ commandeering a US military vehicle; we don't even know how to drive it!"

"It's not that hard," Wade said as he connected something else, "Probably a manual somewhere..."

A PBD sergeant was at the top, "Hey, Possible; we just got a call from the military; they want the Gauss Tank out of here, but there's no airlift; the tank's too heavy. Closest base is by the synthodrone factory, and they want it there to support their men hitting it."

Kim frowned, "That's a bit too much of a coincidence."

"Oh yeah." the sergeant said, "Anyways, they say we're cleared to use it to help their men, and we got a pair of people who can drive, but no one to aim. Possible, up for gunning?"

"You sure?" Kim asked, frowning, an uncertain edge in her tone.

"You aim and your friend can load." the PBD soldier said. "Besides, they need to field test it anyways; why not now?"

"Check with the military commander; it's their vehicle." she answered. The image of the dead tank crew flashed before her again... "If they don't mind us borrowing the tank, we'll do it."

"Alright; let's get the thing moving first."

Kim inhaled as the sergeant talked to someone on the radio... she looked at the system for aiming the tank; it wasn't difficult to figure out, but she wondered how they were going to coordinate; there weren't any functioning systems to coordinate, it'd be manually told... _We're eighteen for crying out loud,_ she thought, _and now we're manning a tank because Dementor decided to go murder on a group of innocent soldiers doing their duties..._ she clenched her synthogoo stained fists.

X

Wade bit his tongue as he finished rewiring the tank's electronic systems, muttering to himself; "Connect the red wire to the main transmission gear, reconnecting the main gun to the electrical power generator... aaaaannnddd... there! Alright, we can drive and shoot now!"

"Understood!" said the PBD soldier who had taken to driving the tank, "Patrol-2 will join us and help escort us to the enemy position, then we'll use the tank to give the army help against the turrets."

Wade stumbled as the tank rolled into motion... he wiped sweat from his forehead, _Jeez, they weren't kidding when they said tanks were hot, cramped interiors..._ He took a step back, bumping into the small steps used for the top hatch, which was only mostly shut.

XX

**Dementor Secret Lair**

**(Alaska)**

Dementor watched as the American military had finally responded and was attacking his synthodrone production, but he dismissed it; the drones had done their part and confirmed his new devices worked. _And I got to bloody that pesky hero thief and strike a morale blow to her. Not a bad trade off; the new _Blitztod _grenades certainly do their work, ja?_

He paced, wondering what his next move would be... "Fantine!" he said, "Sever all ze connections, have ze synthodrones go on auto for their combat and let zhe Americans end this engagement. Nothing more to gain. Order any henchmen left to get zhemselves as far away as possible before disconnecting. Don't vant them to interrogate anyone."

"_Yes sir._"

"Uh... Professor?" Myron asked.

"Vhat?"

"Doesn't this seem a little wanton; I mean, it's a combat action, but I think that it crossed into overkill."

Dementor frowned, wondering if Myron had the stomach for villainy... _Maybe he doesn't... in the sense of a complete monster. A good villain has some standards, knowing when to cross the line._

"If it vas helpless civilians, I vould agree, Myron. But zhese are soldiers, who knew ze risks when they signed up. I may be a villain, but I vill _not_ descend to the level of that swine..." he trailed off, and Myron seemed to be considering the events.

X

**Gauss Tank Testing Zone**

**Nevada, USA**

Sergeant Wallace Greens ducked as the drones advanced again, removing his now-empty clip and putting another one into his M16. He activated his radio, "This is Echo-Four-One to Echo-Four-Lead, we're holding position but we can't advance. Repeat, holding but cannot advance. We're also running low on ammo, repeat, running low on ammo. Over."

"_Echo-Four-Lead to Echo-Four-One; we copy. Ammunition is on the way. PBD is going to clear you a shot; they've reclaimed Project Flower. Over."_

He felt relief, hoping the tank crew, men he knew, weren't hurt.

"Yes sir! Echo-Four-One out."

"_Negative; you should be aware that PBD called in Kim Possible since she was with them."_

"Repeat, sir!"

"_PBD brought Kim Possible along since she was with them; she helped rescue the tank. They say the crew was dead though, despite their best efforts."_

He paled; _Frankie... Charlie... damn it! Why couldn't they save them? I thought they could do fucking anything!_ He paused before responding.

"Ten-Four... sir. Echo-Four-One out." He glanced over as a dozen drones advanced; he rose out of cover and opened fire, ripping all twelve down with several bursts from his M16; "That's for my friends you motherfuckers!" he shouted before ducking into cover as the pair of automated turrets turned to fire whatever sci-fi like weapon they had; some sort of laser. The lasers flew over, discharging and sending rock tumbling down onto his helmet, causing him to partially blank out before he recovered, in cover. He glanced over, "Private Johnson! You throw your grenades yet?"

"No sir!"

"Get as close as you can and throw them at those damn gun turrets, we need to mobilize, NOW! Men, lay down suppressive fire! Keep them distracted!"

He rose and fired at the left turret, trying to get its attention, moving up to the next set of cover. The blasts soared over him. _Really bad aim; good!_ he waited for a brief pause, then rose again, firing. Johnson moved in close, and threw his first grenade. It soared over and landed right under the turret, exploding, sending flaming shrapnel into the air. One of the pieces of metal landed on his arm, burning; he brushed it off right before he loaded a new clip into his now empty rifle... _Damn it! Last clip! Where's the goddamn supplies..._

"Hostiles incoming!" shouted PFC Morne, firing his rifle, then it stopped shooting... "Crap!" he ducked... and was out of ammo. Greens rose and fired two careful bursts at the incoming drones, four drones collapsed as bullets went through... then a gold-colored armored drone charged out, absorbing the stray bullets from his two previous bullets.

"Shit!" he muttered as it closed, snapping the bayonet on his rifle into position, and as the heavy drone charged up, he thrust the bayonet... only for it to hit the armor and _break,_ one of the shards slashing across his arm lightly. He got picked up by the drone, held by the scruff of his Kevlar, and thrown back, his rifle clattering uselessly on the rocky ground he was standing on a mere second ago.

XX

"Target as twelve o'clock!" shouted the PBD driver, "Possible, can you aim for it?"

"Aiming..." Kim said, shifting the aim, seeing the laser turret. "Ron?"

"All loaded!" Ron said, then grunted as he hit his head again, and he grabbed one of the extra helmets lying around, putting it on his head.

"_On da way!"_ Rufus shouted, pushing against the firing trigger. Instead of a sturdy _**THUD**_ like Kim was expecting, it was a more _whoosh_, accelerated with a lower sounding thud. The round sped out, accelerated by a non-explosive force, sailing forward into the turret. "Looks like a hit!" Kim said, "Knocked out one of the laser turrets!"

"Patrol-2, there's enemy infantry in the cliffs, clear them out, we're sitting ducks here!" the driver shouted, "We're going in to help the military. Possible, targeting's at your discretion!"

Kim just nodded, looking for something that was threatening... she saw one of the heavy synthodrones near the soldiers positions... smartly, the soldiers were getting out of the way. "Ron, heavy syntho!" she shouted, shifting the aim. Sweat was sliding down the side of her face as the heat from the engine continued to pound at her.

"Right..." Ron said, grunting as he lifted the shell and slid it into position, "K, it's set!"

Rufus pulled... nothing fired.

"Wade?" Ron asked, "Why isn't it going _zhoom_!"

"Hang on!" Wade said, "Circuitry's loose!"

XX

Private Annabelle Webber of PBD ducked as the synthodrone armed with the electric discs threw one over her head... her rifle was empty, and ammo was coming soon... _Damn it!_ she thought as she glanced out of cover... the drone threw another disc, this one sailing over and nearly taking out her sergeant. She activated her rifle's under slung bayonet, the electrically-created blade springing to life; she leapt over and sprinted, driving the rifle up into the drone, punching through it's pathetic protection. It dropped a disc, which exploded in a shower of sparks, knocking the gun out of her hand and burning her arms.

She blanked out as she landed roughly on the rocks; she could feel the bruises forming already. _Great... just great..._ she thought as she pushed herself up. Her sergeant ran up, pulling her up, "You alright, private?"

"I think so..." she said, looking at what was left of her rifle... she reached for her service pistol... it was there still.

"Get back and get checked by the medic; we'll continue on, catch up if you can." the sergeant said, "Men, come on! We're almost there!"

XXX

Sergeant Wallace Greens groaned as he looked up... the drone was advancing on him menacingly...

"_Prepare. For. Doom."_ the drone said, the words echoing mechanically.

"Where's the damn cheerleader..." he muttered in response as he tried to pull himself up, reaching for his service pistol, hoping he could at least shoot the open head... the drone began to move...

When suddenly it exploded; he saw in a blink-and-you'd-miss-it moment a projectile speeding past, going through the drone and impacting on a rock formation nearby, causing the rocks to be blown into rubble.

"Hot damn!" shouted a soldier nearby, "They really sent help!"

Rubbing his head and getting back down into cover, he crawled forward, looking for his rifle... He stopped, glancing over... PBD was advancing steadily, firing their fancy weapons and getting through while the Gauss Tank was moved up... _Those idiots! Orders were to get the thing _back_ to us, not use it on the offensive!_ He had quite a few complaints to register with command... he keyed his radio... or thought he did; it was destroyed by the fact that he slammed into a hard rock face. _Amazing I'm still awake,_ he mused, before stumbling to the ground, uneasy. The squad's medic was nearby, "Hang on sir!" the medic said, his medkit open nearby, the green cross with a white border stained with blood as he tried to stop a soldier's bleeding... likely from shrapnel.

XX

Wade checked the wiring; "Alright, it's good for another shot; aim for the center, there should be a power source visible..."

"The big glowing thing in the middle?" Kim asked as she looked through the scope, "behind a vent saying 'Power'?"

"That'd be it!" Wade said, blinking several times as he tried to cope with the heat. _Funny... they never bring up how hot and cramped it is in the movies or games... and I don't think I blame them._

He glanced at Kim; she was focused now, but he knew that the failure was affecting her. _Man, this is going to be ugly..._ he glanced at his arm; he didn't notice he was bleeding, and it was soot covered from the smoke generated by the overheating systems. _This 'Gauss' gun is really impractical right now... powerful, but impractical._

He heard another burst as the tank fired; he asked, "What'd you hit?"

"Got the power," Kim said, and Wade heard secondary and tertiary explosions. "Think that worked..."

"_This is Echo-Four-Lead to Gauss Tank, come in."_

Kim answered as Wade was checking the systems; "Possible here; sorry we had to borrow the tank... Commander?"

"_Major, actually. I'm aware; and considering the alternative Miss Possible, I'd rather it be in your custody than these robots. I have a read that you took out the main facility, is that true?"_

"We knocked out the power to the facility, Major. Seems it was explosive."

_"Understood. I'm sending a crew out now to recover the tank and see what we can analyze from the wreckage of these things. Thanks for the assistance again, and pass my thanks on to your friends and PBD, we appreciate it."_

XX

"Copy that Major." Kim said, "Possible out."

"_Echo-Four-Lead out."_ She hung up, rubbing the sweat off her face again, only to accidently slather a small amount of synthogoo on her face. She noticed that she was smelling worse than Ron after football practice. She glanced to the PBD driver, who nodded, "You might as well get out; there's nothing else we can use this on."

"Systems are too hot anyways," Wade said, fanning himself, "Man, the tech is good, but the life expectancy _sucks_."

"And heavy," Ron said, rubbing his sweaty, dirt covered arms. His hair was tucked under a helmet, which was a good thing as he bumped his head against the tank's roof a few times. She pushed open the half-broken hatch and pulled herself outside, the fresh air almost knocking her out after being stuck in the cramped, hot, sweaty tank. She looked around; PBD and regular army soldiers were looking at each other awkwardly, then they started looking through the mess of hundreds of destroyed synthodrones. A sergeant walked up to Kim, and put a hand on her shoulder tightly; the man's face was covered with grime and a slash cut; he looked her in the face.

"So. You showed up after all." he said, growling. Kim glanced for a nametag... "Greens" was hardly visible on his chest, practically covered in dirt and synthogoo.

"We couldn't leave you to rot," Kim answered, raising an eyebrow.

"Like you left Frank and Charlie to?"

"Who?" Kim asked, blinking; she didn't recognize the names at all... except for two kids at school, _sophomores _at this point.

"Corporals Frank Castle and Charlie Miller; assigned to drive the experimental _Gauss_ tank from Firebase Echo-Seven-One while it was being experimented with by the scientists operating out of said firebase."

Kim blinked; then she realized he was talking about two of the dead tank crewmen... she closed her eyes, glancing down as the memory of their glazed eyes, the expressionless and eternal gaze with their half shut eyes, the mouths just hanging open, leftover of their terror before their necks were snapped by the heavy synthodrones.

"Couldn't bother yourself to save them, could you?" the sergeant added, snorting, "And you call yourself a hero. Go back to Middleton; this isn't a place for the timid or childish combat rules. _This. is. reality._"

Kim looked him in the face, and said to him, "You think it's easy to look death in the eye, Sergeant? Knowing that you might of been able to do more if you'd just been a little faster?"

"You think it's hard to carry a gun and use it? You fired a tank just fine. Why can't you use a weapon so you don't have to _waste_ time punching your way..."

"_SERGEANT GREENS!_" shouted someone, a captain, from a distance, "What are you doing?"

"Sir!" Greens said, snapping to attention and shouting back, "Discussing events with Miss Possible, verifying the fate of the tank crew."

The captain walked over, stepping through the puddles of goo. He was covered it dirt too, but his brown beard was still visible. "Possible?" he asked, looking at her as he stepped next to her. He offered his hand, "Captain Horace Duncan, pleasure to meet you, even in these circumstances."

Kim accepted, shaking, "The same. How's the sitch on your end?"

"Not too bad; some wounds, and a fatality, Private Joe Smith, but otherwise we got off too lightly for me to be comfortable."

Kim raised an eyebrow, "Huh?"

"This victory was too easy; it was like whoever was behind this was using this as a distraction. I assume it was this Drakken fellow?"

"No; another whacko. Dementor, probably, the drones use his gear."

"Ah; the other mad scientist running around; yes, I remember him... four years ago he swiped something from a lab we were stationed near." The captain shrugged, "All I know is that you recovered it when we completely missed him. Thanks again, for that, and for the help today. Sergeant Greens, get your men together, you're going to escort the Gauss tank back to base. I need to report to the Major."

"Sir." Greens said, saluting his commanding officer. Kim could tell that he didn't approve of her, though... and he was angry.

_And I don't blame him at all,_ she thought, sighing, _I let his friends down... and now they're dead. We should of been faster..._

"Don't mind him;" Duncan added as she watched him leave. "He's a bit bitter; never really approved of your heroics, thinking you were sticking your nose into buisness that isn't yours. Just ignore him."

"Right..." Kim slowly answered, "He's not the only one, you know. I'm just surprised that people can do that, considering how many times I've stopped these take over the world schemes."

He shrugged, "They say stupidity is infinite. Sergeant Greens is no idiot, but he has an opinion. Best let him keep it; it's his right and all." Ron was trying to avoid the synthogoo as he walked up, making awkward leaps. Captain Duncan looked at him and asked, "Why's he still wearing an army helmet?"

"He borrowed it... hit his head in the tank a few times."

"Ah... we'd like that back."

Ron stumbled up and asked, "What?"

"The helmet you're wearing, mister Stoppable..."

"Oh, right," Ron said, taking the helmet off and handing it over, his hair a sweaty mess; "Sorry; hit the roof a few times."

The Captain nodded, taking it and putting it under his arm, "I'll return this. Thank you for the assistance, Miss Possible, Mister Stoppable. I'll make sure we get you and PBD in the record for the assistance."

"No big," Kim answered, trying to sound normal. Captain Duncan nodded, and returned to his men. Kim looked at Ron, and he nodded.

"We did good today, KP. Really; if we didn't get in there Dementor would of done a lot worse."

"I know," she said, putting a hand on her arm, "I just... I just feel like we could of saved the tank crew. They didn't deserve what they got."

"Come on," Ron said, offering his hand, ignoring the fact that her glove was still stained with synthogoo, "Let's get out of here." She accepted, and they started walking away...

Only for Ron to slip in a pile of synthogoo and land back-first into a full pile, splashing it everywhere.

"Oh; ugh! Ron!" Wade shouted as he got a full spray to the face, covering him. Wade was spitting it out, and shaking his hands trying to get it off of the gadget he was using.

XX

XX

**One and a Half Hours Later**

**PBD Firebase **_**Alternate-3**_

Kim looked at Ron; the two had showered and were sitting in the base's lounge; some PBD patrols had finished their rounds and the alert had been cancelled with all the drones gone... but no henchmen had been captured, and they only had confirmation that Dementor had been behind the attack to show for all that'd happened. _And to think it cost five people their lives; four tank crewmen and a soldier, with a dozen more wounded..._ Kim thought as she rubbed her finger on the table in a circular motion, sighing, _The world's out to be cruel these days... ever since Graduation, the old tradition seems to have disappeared, and now it's full lethality. Oh who am I kidding... it's been full lethal, it just hadn't been _competent_ enough to connect._

"Something wrong KP?" Ron asked while Rufus was sleeping on the table.

"No..." Kim answered, closing her eyes for a moment as she looked at some of the PBD soldiers who had their arms in splints, one had crutches. She recognized the sniper; he had a field day, knocking out several drones with his high-caliber bullets thanks to the structural weakness of synthodrones.

Ron shrugged, "Alright. I'm here if you need me."

Kim glanced over at the clock, then shook her head, "We're leaving tomorrow, you know."

"Yeah," Ron said, "Heading back to Middleton to catch a flight to Japan and then I got training for a few months, probably. Hopefully I'll be back in time for college, though." Rufus woke up as Ron was talking.

"Probably;" Kim said, glad to have something to take her mind off of what was going on, "I'll probably get called on to get Dementor, so I might not stick around."

Ron paused, then he spoke, sounding disappointed, "Oh... OK. Alright; I get it. You have to keep around, I guess."

Rufus chattered at Ron.

"Hey, come on, I'm allowed to be annoyed that we have to spend time away from each other..." Ron said back, forgetting Kim was in earshot. Rufus chattered something back. "Oh come on now, I'm over that!..."

Kim just excused herself silently as Ron and Rufus started chattering at each other. She walked down the hall; two PBD soldiers were standing guard outside of the technology lab.

"So, Frank," the first one asked, "Any clue on the new supers that showed up?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I read about that. Why you asking, Charlie?" asked the second guard.

"Well, with the fact that bunch of new folks now have powers, we're going to get called on a lot, aren't we?"

"Oh yeah. Just glad we have folks like Possible around to help though; some of those guys hit _hard..._"

They didn't notice Kim as she stood right in front of them, crossing her arms with an amused grin; they just kept on talking.

"Oh yeah; did you see that dude with the wolverine claws?"

"Marvel's gonna have a legal headache, ain't it?"

"Possible would be able to slam 'im into a ditch though, if they fought."

"Chances of that happening? Ten to nil. I find that energy gal more interesting; seriously, girl with gold energy, an' slinging it around like a gunslinger and blasting gangsters off of freeways with her powers going off on the baddies like Fourth of July? I'm surprised the guards didn't notice the fight sooner. Pfft, Brits. And they wonder why they lost the Revolutionary War..."

"Yes," Kim interjected suddenly, shaking her head with a smile, "I'm surprised the guards didn't notice."

The two guards looked at her, one of them looking like that he'd just shat bricks. By the smell, he _did_. She pulled out her ID card, which was issued to her for her stay and allowed her access to the technology lab.

"Oh, uh... yeah... uh..." the first guard, Charlie, muttered, "Sure, go on in." Frank looked at him, shaking his head. Kim walked past, the door opening automatically with a faint _whoosh_. Wade was inside, tinkering at one of the workshops with a pair of gauntlets that looked like they'd been salvaged.

"Wade?" Kim asked once Wade put down the device he was using. She walked up behind him.

"Oh, hey Kim." Wade said, "Just cracking open one of these gauntlets; see if I can't reverse engineer it." He gestured over, and Kim followed him to what looked like a set of schematics. "Alright, the power gauntlets were derived from some of the new energy supers; not unlike Shego, but _much_ more stable."

"Her powers were unstable?" Kim asked, frowning. They'd never seemed unstable to her, and she'd taken hits to the face from them.

"When separated from her, yes. You won't believe how hard it was to figure out how to modify Ron's Kimmunicator to amplify her powers when you two were going after that Idol. When Ron and Drakken switched brains, remember?"

"I remember," Kim said, frowning, "I'm just glad she returned it. Considering the modifications to it, I'd of thought she'd of kept it. Anyways, what's the stich on these gauntlets?"

"Well, the problem is that they need some sort of DNA sequence; Dementor probably uses samples from an energy super he either captured or recruited. It shouldn't be hard to replicate in a GJ lab, but we need more samples. There's also circuitry that's unique to the design, meaning that we need more samples if we're going to try and replicate."

"Wait, what?" Kim asked, frowning, "Run that again."

"These things are, if we're right, much more controllable than the current electrogauntlets that're in circulation, so less risk of lethal hits. GJ would love these replicated. Heck, you may need them too; with some of the supers hanging around, you may need it to get through some of them. You remember that walking stone wall three weeks back?"

"The one who tried to attack the Upperton police department and break out one of his super buddies, only for me and Ron to take him out once we de-stoned him with a mix of super-sticky bubble gum and Ron's over aged Five-Alarm Sauce?"

"That's the one. I didn't like the look of that fight, it was way too close, even if he couldn't hit as hard as he could take it, the fact that PBD showed up by the time you finished with him was a bit of a warning sign to me. Usually they show up a while after."

"Well, the PBD base in Upperton _did_ get a much better commanding officer," Kim responded, "I thought their response time was just faster."

"Anyways," Wade said, cutting memory lane off, "I don't think the actual replication will be too difficult, the problem is that battle damage tends to leave me with only parts... I can get most of what I need from any gauntlet, but some parts break. A full sample would be best, but it's going to take some trial and error."

"So in other words, if I find useful tech on one of the drones, grab it and bring it over?"

"If you can." Wade said, "Not a high priority though. The scans are more important, it makes it easier for me to determine what we're looking at. Turns out the first scan on those gauntlets exaggerated their power because battle damage caused them to amplify beyond their safe limits, secondary scans revealed that they're weaker, but still dangerous."

"Right. If I do find anything useful, I'll make sure to get a scan of it; though make sure to let me know when you need samples, alright?"

"Sure thing. Oh, by the way; I got a call from the airport. Everything's set for us to be there once we head back home."

"Alright, thanks Wade. Sooner Ron gets a hang of his powers, the better."

"You're figuring he's stepping up now?" Wade asked, "Full time hero, not just a sidekick?"

"He's been one for a while now, even before he got his powers unlocked."

"True. Still, he needs training, or he's not getting through anything with that magic stuff." Wade paused, then added, "I'm a bit worried he'll outpace you; I mean, you're basically a certified _badass_, Kim, but you're only human."

"Oh that's ridiculous," Kim said, feeling her cheeks heat up, "I don't _need_ magic or any of that fancy glow to take on anyone packing it; I've been doing it since Freshman year, not going to change now." She stared Wade directly in the eyes.

"True." Wade said, backing off, "I'm just saying; some might start to wonder why he's the 'sidekick' when he can go nuts like he did."

Kim just gave Wade a look and shook her head, "Look, when Ron gets his training, I'll be glad, but I'm not going to just sit around, I'll train harder if I have to, but I won't get outpaced by some fancy magic and every hack with glowing body parts." She turned away.

X

Wade watched her leave, exhaling slowly in relief. "That was close," he said once Kim was out of earshot. _Note to self, never imply that old-fashioned melee is outdated by new magic and tech when she knows sixteen styles of kung-fu and knows where you live..._

"Hehehe," said one of the other technicians, "That went well."

Wade just gave the technician a glare, "Least she didn't look at your DeviantArt favorites page, mister rule _thirty four_."

XX

XX

**The Next Day**

**July 11th, 2007**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim glanced around as the Sloth crossed the town border; there was still wreckage leftover, a pair of destroyed lorwardian walkers just resting nearby, next to the sign that read:

_Welcome to Middleton_

_Home of the Middleton Mad Dogs_

"Man," Ron said as he looked at it, "World's not going to be the same, is it? And to think there's still dozens of those hanging around, all ruined, disabled..."

Vines were growing on the right walker, flowers popping up regularly. Drakken's vines still grew, but didn't expand too far. _Probably for the best,_ she thought, _Or it'd screw up the ecosystem..._

"So," Wade asked, "We going to stop by my house first?"

"Yeah," Kim said, "We need to unload your tech stuff."

"Right;" Wade said, "I'm just glad my house didn't get hit too badly; I'd hate to have to go to the science center to do any tech work." After Wade said that, Kim heard a tremendous snap...

"Incoming!" Kim shouted after she began swerving the Sloth out of the way as a large tree fell; the kinetic force of the crash sending Ron into the window. "OW!" he shouted as his face met the window, and Kim hit the brakes, the Sloth coming to a stop, the two left wheels almost coming off the pavement as she hit the brakes hard.

"Anyone hurt?" she asked, catching her breath as adrenaline surged through her body in response to the near-death situation.

"No..." Wade said, panting and almost hyperventilating.

Rufus gave a negative; Ron however simply said, "Ow..." again; his cheek looked like it might be swelling.

Kim nodded, "Ron, there's a med-kit in the glove compartment; no ice though."

"I'll be fine..." Ron said, rubbing his cheek.

They drove on, coming up next to Wade's house; unlike most of the houses, it had survived... mostly. Wade got out, and Kim popped the trunk open. Ron also got out, and started carrying Wade's portable workbench and laptop inside.

"Now hold it right there!" said a woman... Wade's mother, Mrs. Load; "You go off with just a note and now you come in and expect me to just let you in like that?" _Come on..._ Kim thought, sighing and getting out. She walked over, watching Wade wince.

"I... uh... I can explain, Mom..." Wade said, his veins popping as he tried to figure out how to explain. _So, he didn't mention he was leaving either... Ron probably told his parents, considering Hana._

"Explain what, boy?" Mrs. Load said, staring down Wade hard enough that Kim thought he would melt like chocolate in the summer heat, "That you just get up and leave, thinking I'll be just _fine_ with it?"

"I... uh... I..." Wade was glancing at Ron, trying to get some help.

"You want Wade out of your house?" Kim asked, stepping in before it got ugly.

"Oh yes," his mother said, her angry look a reminder that hell hath no fury, "If he can just take off, he can find his own way."

"Mom... come on!" Wade said, practically pleading at this point...

"Wade, get in; you can probably stick with the Tweebs for a while." Kim said, and Ron nodded, and he added:

"Or my house maybe... my room's probably empty."

"Uh... sure." Wade said, backing off quietly. They put the equipment back in the trunk and got back in; Kim drove over to her house; it was a short, uneventful drive.

-X-

Kim looked what was left of her house, plus some of the reconstruction that had been done while she was down in Nevada. By the looks of it, most of the basic structure had been repaired, like most structures around Middleton as the reconstruction went on. It wasn't fully insulated, but it had all the roofing and walls back, offering some protection from the elements. _Hope it gets insulated by winter,_ she thought as she looked at it; _Or it's going to be a cold one._

She pulled in next to her dad's car, which was still intact. Putting the car in park and turning the emergency brake on, she turned the car off and got out, as did Ron and Wade. They walked up to the front door, and Kim inserted her house key, opening the door.

"Mom? Dad?" she asked... no lights were on. "Jim? Tim?"

There was no answer... it was weird. _Where are they?_ she wondered...

Something clattered; she instantly pushed Wade behind her and entered a defensive stance, listening, hundreds of scenarios playing through her head as she began thinking of what villain would try to kidnap her family or hold them hostage. Most of them, it turned out.

"Kim, I..."

"Not now, Wade." she said, putting a finger to her mouth to gesture for him to be quiet. She started creeping ahead, listening...

They crept down the hall, near the Tweeb's room... she heard more... and slid the door open just a fraction...

"_Hoosha_!" she heard, and dropped her guard. _It's the Tweebs,_ she thought, relieved. She knocked on their door, and heard them shout, and a mad scramble. She pushed the door open a bit...

To have two twins with the same brown hair and a little over half her height pointing what looked to be homemade projectile launchers at her; the angle of attack would of been extremely painful against a man.

"_Oh... hey Kim_!" the Tweebs said together, putting down the makeshift weapons.

"Didn't think you'd be home..." Jim began,

"... so early." Tim finished.

"Where's mom and dad?" Kim asked, frowning.

"Work." Jim answered, "Why?"

"Wade needs a place to bunk," Kim explained, filling them in on the events with Wade's mother. The Tweebs glanced at each other.

"Well..." Tim said, frowning... "If they're fine, guess he could stay with us..."

"Why not?" Jim asked back, "He's a cool dude."

Kim saw Wade smile out of the corner of her eye. She glanced at the clock; _Alright, got a few hours until we need to be at the airport; four hours early for international flights, even if Ron's not carrying much besides his Kimmunicator and a few other toiletries... and Rufus._

"Alright; well, I need to clean up after the car ride. Basement bathroom still working?"

"Yeah." Jim said.

"... don't worry, we aren't making anti-matter." Tim finished, and the two grinned at each other.

Kim hit her forehead; _Last time the Tweebs brewed anti-matter, they nearly blew up the house and coulda nuked half the neighborhood if they forgot to use the right protection... least they took it to the science center after that. There's shielding there for those kind of accidents..._

"Come on, Wade," she said, "There's an unused room in the basement you can use. Set up in there, I guess. Don't get too comfortable; the 'rents might not want you to stay too long."

"Sure." Wade said.

XX

**Thirty Minutes Later**

Ron walked up the stairs, and cracked open the door... the battered thing, somehow salvaged from the house before it got demolished, fell off its hinges and collapsed. "AW man..." he said, shutting his eyes just in case.

"Ron!" Kim shouted from her room loudly.

"Sorry KP! Door fell on its own, I swear!" he shouted as he stepped backwards, missing the step, slipping and bouncing down the stairs. "Ow oof ow ow ow ooff WHOA!"

Rufus squealed in horror as Ron kept hitting the stairs, until he landed on the landing. He rolled over, on his back, and sighed. _Why me..._ he wondered.

"Come on up, Ron." Kim said after a minute, standing at the top of the stairs wearing casual clothing.

"Heh, right." Ron said, blushing in embarrassment from his awkward landing. He heard Rufus snigger. He walked up; Kim's room was empty, so much it surprised Ron despite the fact he knew most of the room had been destroyed in the lorwardian attack; the only furniture was a chair that had been pulled up from the wreckage and a sleeping bag that was tied up in the corner with a pillow next to it. One of the surviving Cuddle Buddies dolls was sitting near where Kim's bed had been before the house was destroyed, and there was a footlocker with a hand scanner in the corner near the closet, which Ron suspected was holding the battle suit.

"So... uh..." Ron awkwardly said.

"Just sit down, Ron. We need to talk."

_Oh _**fuck**_._ Ron thought, worried it was _that_ kind of talk... his heart rate accelerated, _Oh no, I should of KNOWN this was coming! We're not even going to wind up in the same college, are we? Is she jealous of my power? Is she worried it'll wreck our relationship?_ Hundreds of scenarios played in his head; leaving him light headed as he sat down.

He could imagine it now; a tearful rejection, claiming necessity for his sake... _"No, it's not you Ron... it's my enemies; they're getting to the point where they might send assassins, I don't want you caught near it when it happens._"

_Kim? Worry about assassins? Yeah right..._ said the logical side of his mind, which was often low key, _she's thrashed dozens of them that tried to get her between missions; no one save the 'sins were hurt._

He worried it was jealousy... _"Ron... I can't keep up with you if you can just go magical like that... I dunno, it's... I don't think it's you, it's the magic..."_

Hundreds of images was running through his mind; some of them gross...

_"Josh was curious about us after all that's happened and well..."_

Ron savagely slammed that train of thought to the side and crushed it like a soda can under a giant robot warrior's boot heel, _Monkey ain't Kim's love anymore; he had that shot, he lost it, he doesn't get a second chance._ He tried to satisfy his mind with the memory of finding out Josh wasn't with Kim anymore, but he had some difficulty in his shocked state.

He sat down in the chair as Kim paced... he started inhaling and exhaling sharper...

"Look, Ron... I know this sounds weird, but I'm worried about your; what did Sensei call it; Monkey magic? I don't know much about it, but... I want you to be careful... I'm worried about what it'll do to you."

"What do you mean, KP?" Ron asked, his voice choking.

"I'm worried it's going to cost you," Kim said, sighing, her voice steadily becoming more strained as she tried to find the words, "I'm worried about your safety Ron; I'd go through Hell itself and then some to rescue you... but I don't think I can rescue you if the price of your magic, something you never really had a choice in, is something like what happened to Monkey Fist..."

Relief exploded out of Ron as he sighed, sagging in relief, _Alright... it's not _that_ talk..._

"Ron?" she asked, frowning, a worried look in her eye, "You alright?"

"Sorry. I thought it was the _other_ kind of talk for a second."

Kim looked at him like he was crazy for a second(which, as Ron admitted to himself, he was), then laughed, walking over and giving Ron a light punch to the arm.

"Ron... you... oh..." she kissed him, catching him off guard. He closed his eyes, and waited, putting his hands around her as she did the same. After a few seconds more, they let go.

"Well... you know me; paranoia and irrational fear, secret weapons!" Ron said, trying to make it sound like a joke, but he wasn't sure if he was doing too well. Kim laughed lightly. Ron thought he saw the Tweebs for a moment peaking in.

"Just be careful, Ron," Kim finished, "We don't know a lot about this magic stuff; for all we know, it could be dangerous. I mean, look at Hana; she's a baby and she's already superhuman."

"You know, I got a feeling that's just a teaser..." Ron said, instantly regretting it. Kim gave him a playful slap along the face.

"Watch it, magic boy, I still know sixteen styles to your one. Seventeen to two if we count street fighting."

Ron laughed, "Wouldn't have it any other way, KP."

The door opened and he heard Kim's father shout, "Jim! Tim! I'm home! Any sign of Kimmie?"

XX

Doctor James Timothy Possible walked through, glancing around. _Ain't home sweet home yet, but it's almost there,_ he thought with a sad, internal sigh as he looked at the bare walls. He'd seen the Sloth outside, so he had to reckon Kim was home. That, or _someone_ was on a one-way trip to a black hole.

He glanced up, seeing Kim and Ron at the balcony. "Hey dad!" Kim said, coming down the stairs and embracing him in a hug; he returned it, a little surprised at how hard she could squeeze. He glanced up and saw Ron standing by the balcony, Rufus on the railing.

As Kim let go, he asked, "So, Kim, how was Nevada?"

"Oh, just fine." she answered, though he had a funny feeling _something_ had happened down there.

"That's great, Kimmie," he said, then frowned, "How's Ron? Or Wade?"

He saw Kim's face blank as she suddenly remembered something, "Yeah... about that; Wade needs a place to hang for a while; his mom threw him out."

"Hrmpf." he said, frowning, thinking it through briefly. He trusted Wade, and knew he wouldn't abuse the hospitality. "Alright, he can stay for a few days, but I trust he can find better arrangements, or figure out how to make up with his mother."

"I'll let him know; he's in the basement's spare room right now."

XX

**Four Hours Later**

**Middleton Airport**

Ron pulled the backpack over his shoulders as he looked at Kim; their ride was going to show up shortly, but airport security was being extremely paranoid; there were even PBD riot soldiers guarding it. _Least Sensei's got an agent on the ride this time,_ Ron thought, amused, recalling the information that was sent about it; it wasn't any private jet or anything that'd raise flags, it was a small import/export plane that would be picking up some of the local science center's equipment, which would then be delivered to Japan where most of the factories had been knocked out during the alien attack, though reconstruction was well under way, some parts needed to be brought in. Ron would be going along incognito; supposedly just to make sure it got over alright considering that a few cargo flights had been intercepted by an airborne super working for some pirate group working out of the Pacific in an as-of-yet unknown area. Not that Ron was worried overall about that; if _that_ happened, he was sure he could beat the guy.

"Well Kim," Ron said, smiling, "Guess this is goodbye, unless you want to come?"

"I'd love to," Kim said, "But Wade said that GJ needs me for some operation soon."

"Dementor?"

"Probably."

"Alright; just be careful; if anything happened to you..."

Kim smiled, "I'll be fine; I've beat plenty of Dementor sitches, this one won't be any different."

The two hugged, then, naturally, a kiss came. They broke it after a few seconds, needing to breathe.

A Japanese man wearing a formal suit walked up and nodded, "Stoppable-san, we're ready to leave."

Ron nodded, "I'm ready when you are. Let's get the security done... see ya, KP."

"See ya, Ron." Kim responded, waving. Rufus popped out of Ron's pocket and waved too, and Ron walked with the man, who was one of Sensei's ninjas, towards the security checkpoint.

X

Kim turned, walking... and nearly slammed into a PBD soldier who seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Oh, sorry," Kim said, taking a step back.

"It's alright;" the soldier said; his goggles weren't over his eyes, instead on his forehead, revealing his steel grey eye color; he looked like a veteran member of the PBD. "I was looking for you, Miss Possible. Brigadier General Malta wishes to speak with you in the near future. He knew you'd be here, so he sent a memo down."

"Alright; when's he available?"

"He has a full schedule in the next two days, but he can meet you this weekend."

"Alright then, I'll call him back." Kim said, nodding, "Anything else?"

"No. Off the record though, I'd suggest you keep an eye on your friend... not that I'm sayin' he's untrustworthy, but this fancy magic stuff may do some nasty things to him, and you two've had enough crap piled on you without adding some magical stuff to it."

"No big, he'll be fine. He's tougher than he looks." Kim sounded confident... but somehow, she wasn't so sure herself... _He's right; we don't know anything about this 'magic' stuff... I just hope Ron knows what he's doing... getting turned to stone and surviving is something I don't even want to about..._

The soldier walked off, and Kim frowned as she thought some more.

_Beep beep be-beep._

"Wade?" she asked as she answered, glad for the distraction.

"_Sorry Kim, but I'm getting a very weird visual on a biker gang; seems they're coming straight for Middleton. ID and iconography match ups confirms they're the Hel's Demons biker gang. They'll be here tomorrow morning."_

"The gang that sacked Littleton in early June?" Kim asked, her senses alert as she realized that very soon Middleton might be under attack, and the time frame was _extremely _accurate, because it'd mean that Ron wouldn't be able to hang around... _Guess it's going to be me against a gang... hasn't stopped me before, won't stop me now._

"_The same gang."_ Wade answered, "_And they definitely have at least one super, so you're going to have to take that guy on. I'll get you in touch with Officer Hobble, he's getting a SWAT team ready."_

"_A_ SWAT team?" Kim asked, frowning, "Wade, the Tri-City area only has _one_."

"_I know. And it's Middleton's. I'm sending PBD a heads up since there's a super being in those bikers. MPD should be alerting the city soon, so you'd better get back and change. I think this'll be a battle suit mission."_

"If it isn't bugged; alright Wade, I'm on my way back." She hung up.

XXKPXX

XXRSXX

**End Chapter**

**Author's Notes:**

**- Drones; they're cannon fodder, no use denying. Dementor, of course, being more competent than Drakken, arms them and armors them... though cannon fodder has its use, as Dementor still uses the old drone design.**

**- Kim is a 'natural' hero, as in she has no super powers of her own, just two fists, to feet, and a lotta whallop. The TV Tropes term is "Badass Normal". Ron, however, is more of a 'magic' origin hero one because of the fact that he's swimming in MMP right now... even if he doesn't have too much control or the ability to call it on hand. Sure, Kim's outpaced by supers in some areas, but she's **_**badass**_** enough not to need powers to maintain a similar level of combat. But as Wade said, natural abilities only go so far, but that's why she carries gadgets, right? I suppose technically when she dons the battle suit or when she used the Centurion Project she was more of a 'tech' hero, but that's usually temporary. That, and the battle suit is still buggy. ;)**

**- Rufus is somewhat hard to write, less because he's an complex character or I don't like him and more that it's hard to fit him into a fight scene because this is a little naked mole rat when I have people a few hundred times his size duking it out. I'll probably work to slip him in and let him have some fun with vents, but as far as a normal fight goes, he'll probably be in Ron's pocket or mentioned sliding out, so I can throw Ron around without having to think "Jeez, what's it like for Rufus in there?"**

**- Dementor was always more serious than Drakken, more competent, and this was to sort of exemplify that. Dementor's more willing to kill, though he's not **_**wanton**_** about it and generally keeps it limited to what would be an ROE for a military outfit (namely, combat targets only). He's trying to take over the world, and nothing spells out (viva) La Resistance like wanton slaughter randomly; no KP villain is that kind (except Warhok/Warmonga, but that's another can of beans entirely).**

**- I've also started making a number of in-universe documents, for those who are interested. They're usually short and tagged at the end to help create the setting more, but if there's no or few author's notes I'll put in some of the longer ones to the end. Feel free to PM me if you're curious on any that were mentioned or want larger copies for personal reading; but it'll never be required to understand the story (For example, Wade's report on synthodrone composition).**

**-=Document Recovery: "HenchCo Training Program Ad"=-**

_- Source: Villain's Digest Magazine_

_Heroes got you down? Your legion of terror unable to beat a single cheerleader and her slacker boyfriend? Then you need to train them up!_

_Presenting, HenchCo's Training Regiments, with budgets and plans for every grade of evil villain!  
-"__**Basic Bad**__": A simple, cheap, but excellent program for those who want their henchmen to have basic skills, including simple hand-to-hand combat, basic technical skills, and a brief regimen in weapon usage. Perfect for those on a tight budget or looking to just have foundations before taking over the training themselves. With this foundation, your options of further enhancement are limitless, and for those who don't do so, this investment will ensure basic competence in every minion!_

_-"__**Stormtrooper B-Gone**__": Want a real legion of terror who can handle those pesky Global Justice blue shirts? Sick of having graduates from the hapless stormtrooper's academy of marksmanship as minions? Worry not! With a little cash investment, we'll train your henchmen from people who couldn't hit a barn's broadside to being able to blast a bulls-eye at 100 meters. "Basic Bad" included for free in this package, so save your cash and get your competent henchmen today! -Note; HenchCo is not responsible for any weapon-related mishaps during training or loss of accuracy and competence after training is over; speak to your local HenchCo representative for refresher courses (not included with the initial purchase)._

_-"__**Glamorous Elite**__"_: _This excellent program is the next best that money can buy; just ask Professor Dementor! Henchmen receive a full coverage of the usage of any villainous technology, including basic magical device usage for the scheming magician! Even genetic manipulation comes with this thorough, complete package of training! With additional training regimens, multiple refresher courses offered over a long period (pending filled payments, of course), and even chances to put your own spin in on how your henchmen are trained and in what, this is the ideal training for a villain seeking large groups of loyal, dependable, __**superior**__ henchmen!_

_-"__**I am ze Uber-henchman**__!": Super heroes throwing your guys around like cardboard boxes? Getting blown away by fireballs? Henchmen unable to even _dent_ that flying brick? Then you need ze Uber-Henchman! The ultimate training program, using a full dosage of _carefully-screened and tested_ experiments and genetic manipulation to give your own henchmen superpowers to take on those pesky heroes, you're elites will be the bane of henchmen everywhere! No poor Global Justice agent will last more than five seconds against them, and their best will still fail. (Note; HenchCo not related to any post-training regimen incidents in relation to their powers, or damages caused by such)._

_-"__**Train your Dragon**__": Every villain wishes they had a dragon... well, they don't exist, I'm afraid, but why not have a powerful sidekick? This top-of-the-line program is discussed in detail before we begin to turn that lucky henchman (or henchwoman) into the ultimate, one-man army. This in-detail training program is pricey, yes, but the value of one powerful henchman can be worth an army of basic bads. Superpower enhancements included! Pick that lucky minion and turn him into your trusted lieutenant who can kick ass and take down heroic names today! Have the bane of heroes and heroines everywhere as your loyal henchman!_

**-=Document Ends=-**


	3. Chapter 3: Hel on Earth

_"Weather I admitted it or not, there was an underlying problem going on. Supers were all over the place where they had kept it under wraps before, only a few, fairly isolated places, like Middleton or Go City, had really had supers in the open. Those focal points were also where PBD had firebases. I don't think anyone realized how badly things would get when supers were revealed in large numbers across the planet. Attributing all the chaos threatening the free world after the lorwardian attack to supers would be ignorant, but their presence certainly contributed, heck, may of even accelerated it. They were factors that beat cops and even your everyday marine wasn't expected to handle, and a lot of the supers had extremely flashy attack styles that tended to cause plenty of collateral. Still, good came out of it; it showed that the chaos could be pushed back as in some areas, the presence of supers wound up bringing peace back a lot faster than other areas, even when there was a super trying to cause trouble. Some wondered if I qualified as one of those supers... no; I was just that _good_ at what I do."_

- Kim, reflecting on the emergence of supers and the theory the sudden power shift/vacuum caused by such leading to the world hitting a form of dystopia, recorded in her _Liber Memoriarum_

_"I'm not sure what happened, chief; all I know is that these capes just started brawling in the streets; damn near blew up the city block. Where the heck did these pyro, cryo, and telekinetic guys come from? It's like there's a million plus lab accidents happening, considering a half the supers we're recruiting..."_

- A Korean Global Justice Operative hanging a lampshade on the sudden increase in super-powered individuals in the world after a brawl in downtown Seoul in South Korea

**Chapter 3: Hel on Earth**

**July 11th, 2007**

**6:00 AM Early Morning**

**Downtown Middleton**

**Colorado, USA**

Kim was awake; MPD had been on alert and posted a few sentries, but the Tweeb's satellite, which Wade was using, showed that Hel's Demons had stopped to camp before their attack, and they weren't being stupid about it, meaning that they wouldn't be able to knock them out while they slept. Ron was probably close to Japan by now, and Kim knew it'd be down to her and the MPD SWAT officers to hold the line. Fortunately, PBD was sending help against the Hel's Demons biker gang. Unfortunately, the help would be late due to a super-powered incident occurring in Upperton, forcing PBD to respond to that incident first before facing off with Hel's Demons.

Kim had slept in her mission gear, sans her belt, shoes, and gloves, anticipating things going south early. Getting out of the sleeping bag quietly, she walked over to a locked chest that was protected by one of Wade's custom-built electric lock. Placing her hand on the scanner, it read her hand and a keypad appeared. Typing in the code, the chest opened, revealing her battle suit. It was white spandex, with what Ron had nicknamed 'Tron lines' which weren't glowing; they only glowed when the suit was pushing power. Kim wondered why it had to glow for a minute, _Maybe that's the problem, it puts power into glowing instead of just doing its job._ she decided.

She stepped into the leggings, pulling the rest of it up over her bare feet, the suit gripping to her as it's skintight form took effect. She put her arms into the suit's sleeves, and zipped up the suit. She then grabbed the belt that went with the suit, buckling it on. Finally, she put the two combat boots on, and zipped them up. The suit glowed briefly as it activated, and she put her wrist Kimmunicator on top. She put her EMS into its appropriate holster and walked down. Wade was waiting at the ground floor with a tech scanner, he wasn't certain he'd gotten rid of the kinks from when Larry used the suit, which, annoyingly enough, was just after Wade had fixed the issues with stealth by simply removing it all together until he could develop the tech more.

"Alright," Wade whispered as she came up next to him, and he scanned the suit, "Seems to be good, no stealth mode or redirection gauntlet, but everything else is set to go as long as you keep the plasma shield's use to a minimal. Officer Hobble is going to be waiting for you at the town line. Going to make a stand and intercept them directly."

Kim nodded, "You staying here?"

"Yeah; mission control and all; Jim and Tim'll be up soon to help me with that. You worry about the bikers"

"All over it, Wade." she nodded, and quietly opened the door. The Sloth was still parked in the garage, but she wouldn't be using it; it wasn't going to be able to do much in the chase as the two rockets that the Tweebs had added weren't reloaded after their last use to break through a villain's base walls while escaping. And even if it was loaded, it was extremely limited in ammunition as the Tweebs custom made them from random bits. The battle suit ceased glowing as she wasn't actively using it.

She shrugged as she jogged to the area where the SWAT team would repeal the biker gang, her blood pumping as circulation kicked in, warming her up for the fight ahead.

XX

**Airspace near Japan**

Ron yawned as he woke up; he'd slept most of the trip, to keep himself fresh when training started. He snoozing in the cargo hold, which had a few back-up seats normally unused. Rufus was still sleeping in his pocket. He glanced around, frowning as he thought he heard something unusual...

_Thud._ Something landed hard... he snapped fully awake and looked around. He unbuckled and rushed to a window... and a flying super was on the wing, and he'd just grappled onto it.

"Aw you gotta be kidding..." Ron said, sighing before he shouted, "We got a flyin' guy on the wing!"

"_Buckle up, Stoppable-san! I'm doing a barrel roll!"_ shouted the pilot, and Ron didn't have time as the plane did a barrel roll. Slamming into a crate, stars exploded in his head, but he thought he saw the flying super get sent off... stumbling to the nearest seat, he held on as the plane did a corkscrew, avoiding the super again. Ron went tumbling away, slamming into the door between the cargo area and the cockpit.

The plane suddenly did a nose dive, and Ron went tumbling into the back, landing next to the plane's restroom. _Oh Fu..._ he didn't get to finish the thought as he landed on his face as the plane pulled up to try and stabilize.

"_I think I caught him in the jet stream; you alright Stoppable-san?"_ the pilot asked over the speaker.

"Just... fine..." Ron said, literally pulling himself off of the floor and stumbling to his seat... "Just... warn me next time... where's the anesthetic?"

"_Should be a small box next to the door if you have a medical issue, Stoppable-san. We'll arrive shortly."_

"Right..." Ron said, opening the kit and looking for painkiller.

XX

**Middleton**

**Colorado, USA**

Officer Hobble, suited up in full SWAT armor and with his face covered by a mask so only his eyes were visible (and would cease to be once he put his goggles down), walked up and nodded.

"Miss Possible," he said, "Good to know we can count on you. No Stoppable today?"

"No; he's got his own thing to do." Kim answered, "How're things going?"

"Shame, he'd of been damn useful with that new glowy stuff he has. Regardless, we set up a roadblock; a pair of sandbag bunkers along the road that they'll use to get in as well as blocking it. Leads straight to downtown and the city hall, that's what they'll want to take over to decentralize command. Unfortunately for them, we set up several secondary command posts to keep coordination going. Every beat cop is on alert, but they're our fall back; SWAT will hold the line and try to tie up as many as possible. You're going to be mobile for us; we can't move too well because of our armor; by the time we get out of an armored car the bikers would flee."

Kim nodded, "I'm guessing my mobility involves hijacking one of their bikes?"

"I was hoping you'd say that," Hobble said, his mask moving in what she thought was a grin. "You're our ace in the hole. You probably haven't heard, but the rumors still say you're at some Nevada paramilitary base, and others are thinking you're with Stoppable, wherever he is. I think them Demons are in for a surprise."

Kim shrugged, "Well, we have a fight ahead; just warn me before you volley any tear gas, I don't want a lungful."

"Take this earpiece," Hobble said, handing her one, "you'll be able to hear us even if out of earshot; use whatever communication device you're using to contact us back; your friend Wade is helping with coordination."

Kim fitted it into her left ear. Hobble tapped a microphone, and Kim heard a solid tap in her ear. Giving Hobble a thumbs up, she walked towards one of the bunkers, watching as the SWAT officers checked their rifles and grenades, presumably filled with tear gas or something to that effect. _Hope they check their aim; the battle suit may help seal and heal, but gunshots are still gunshots, and so are bullet holes._

She borrowed a pair of binoculars from a SWAT officer and looked into the distance... she saw the light of a motorcycle's headlights... then more.

At least a dozen bikers were coming in a spearhead formation, a female clad in biker leather with a helmet at the lead. _I think that might be the super,_ Kim thought, frowning and activating the battle suit, the blue lines lighting up into a cyan color. Following that, a dozen more bikers came out... and a dozen more, until there were about sixty bikers coming forward... _Out of sixty five, that means five of them must be riding their supply... whatevers._

"_EVERYONE ON THEIR TOES! WE GOT INCOMING_!" Hobble shouted, almost deafening Kim momentarily as it echoed through her earpiece and into her head. She felt the battle suit's natural abilities taking hold; she felt her muscles tighten as they were strengthened, improving her strength and agility. She felt her bones harden where they could be safely reinforced and her skin becoming somewhat tougher as well. Her mind, however, was unaffected. Even Wade couldn't create genius in a battle suit. She readied herself, knowing the suit was tuned to her psyche; when she wanted a shield bubble, one would happen.

The first dozen bikers entered range; Hobble was on a bull horn:

"_Attention Hel's Demons, stop immediately and put your hands on your heads! This is your only warning!"_

The lead biker simply held her hand up... and Kim saw something teal spinning around, howling like wind... _Oh great... tear gas is the _last_ thing they wanna use now!_ she realized in horror as the burst went flying, a howl of wind speeding past as the SWAT soldier with a heavy grenade launcher fired one... only for it to be blown back, landing away from the barricades, fortunately, but it detonated into a tear gas cloud, and the cursing on the radio told Kim all she needed to know. A second burst of wind blew the roadblock apart, sending traffic cones and wooden roadblocks looking like hurdles from a track team into the side of the road.

She pulled out her EMS and fired it at the lead biker, hitting the bike. The bike's electronic systems spiraled out of control, electric current visible. The leader looked down, leaping off her bike as it exploded, sending the two bikers next to her onto their sides. The bikers opened fire with various guns, mostly pistols, firing one handed while the other hand was driving, a move Kim normally dismissed as suicidal. Especially for the idiots trying to one-hand a shotgun and getting blown off their bikes by the kickback. SWAT's bullets hit another couple bikers on the side, sending them down as the firefight was joined.

Creating a bubble shield with the battle suit, she leapt onto the barricade, bullets ricocheting off the shield and harmlessly impacting the street, protecting a pair of SWAT officers, who used the cover she gave to line up shots. She shut it down and leapt up, jumping onto a passing biker and throwing her into the street, then turning the bike so it skidded on the ground, and she leapt over to another bike. The biker shot a bullet, which went grazing across her midsection, but the battle suit was already patching it up as she slugged the biker in the face and sent him into his friend, causing both to slam into the MPD armored car.

The other bikers had broken off, most trying to buzz the SWAT position, and at least one SWAT soldier was wounded. Kim saw Hobble floating in the air, struggling, with the wind speeding visibly around him.

"Nice one Windbreaker!" shouted one of the bikers as he aimed his pistol at Hobble...

...only for Kim to grab a rock and hurl it at the biker with all the strength she could, hitting the pistol and knocking it away, the discharged bullet speeding into the air and glazing across Hobble's _Kevlar_ armor, before he was slammed down by the super, Windbreaker. Kim, already rushing in, punched Windbreaker in the face, staggering the biker woman clad in brown leather a few feet backwards.

Kim followed up by colliding into Windbreaker as she was still surprised from the hit, sprinting towards and slamming her into a nearby tree, a loud resounding _crack_ audible. Kim didn't get a chance to unleash any more attacks as a burst of air send her tumbling away; Windbreaker had blasted her back.

"Ya'know," Kim said as she pushed herself up, "I suppose I could give a speech on using your powers for good..." Kim proceeded to punch at Windbreaker, who parried the blow with a slice of air, causing her blow to effectively bounce off.

"But you're not going to bother?" Windbreaker said as the two began to trade punches, blocking each other's attacks.

"Nah," Kim said before leg sweeping Windbreaker and sending her tumbling into the air, "Not in the mood, I needed my beauty sleep." She leapt after Windbreaker, who had adjusted herself to the current and had slowed her descent down enough for her to land on the tree branch. Kim swung up and hit Windbreaker in the back, sending the super into the air, tumbling until she hit the ground.

XX

Officer Hobble ducked, then rose, firing his rifle and catching a biker in the chest, sending him tumbling off his bike. Swearing as he ducked back into cover to reload as several bullets ricocheted nearby, he keyed his radio. A SWAT officer maintained fire, trading off with Hobble.

"This is Hound-Lead to Canine-Command, SITREP: Most of the bikers seem to by trying to buzz us, but we lack accurate count." Hobble rose and shot another spray at the bikers, missing as the bullets trailed after before ducking back down.

_"This is Canine-Command, copy that, Geek-One says most of the bikers are keeping you pinned or are trying to knock out our police."_

"Copy that, Hound-Lead out!" Hobble unpinned one of his tear gas grenades and threw it over; a biker caught it, but before she could return it, the grenade released its gas, causing the biker to have a hacking cough and collapse to the side, her bike sliding into another biker's; and that poor biker, distracted by taking pistol shots at the other sandbag bunker, didn't see it coming until the only thing he had time to do was have a look of horror on his face before he was blown into the air, landing with a thud and crunch on the sidewalk.

_Damn,_ Hobble thought as he laid suppressive fire down on a group of bikers who were hiding behind a downed bike, only to gain bullets through the chest as the motorcycle's lack of armor failed to hold, _Possible's gonna be horrified at the sheer carnage. Not much non-lethal going on here..._

XX

Jim Possible looked out from behind the bush, and his twin, Tim, nodded, sprinting across the street with a coil of rope trailing behind him in the low morning light.

The two bikers came; he could hear their laughter and heard one say "Let's torch the Possibles, show 'em that there ain't no more hero to save them!"

Jim waited for the bikers to close in, sweat beading down his forehead as he hoped this worked. He knew quite well that if it didn't it could end badly, but they hadn't gotten the parts to replace their grappler beams, so they had to make due...

"NOW!" Tim shouted, and the two pulled hard, the rope springing into life and held just high enough. The two bikers, who had Molotov Cocktails ready to throw, were knocked off their bikes, the cocktails tumbling down the street and burning out while the two bikes tumbled into each other and exploded, the bikers hitting pavement hard enough to knock them out, and would of possibly spilt gore had they not been wearing helmets.

"Hikka-bikka-boo?" Tim asked as he came back to their house, crossing the rode quickly.

"Hoosha." Jim said, smiling and giving him a hi-five.

XX

Kim grunted as she was blasted into the tree, blinded momentarily by the sheer force of the wind being blasted at her. It was surprisingly warm; a trickle of blood started to creep down her back, the battle suit was not staining, however.

Looking up as Windbreaker rushed at her, Kim activated the suit's bubble-shaped plasma shield, which Windbreaker tried to breach with a pair of air blasts which failed, before colliding into it herself. Kim shut it down and kicked Windbreaker in the chest, causing the older woman to stagger back. Kim followed it up with a pair of punches to the chest and an uppercut, sending Windbreaker away.

"Come on, I thought you were dangerous!" Kim taunted.

"I am!" Windbreaker shouted, before drawing a revolver pistol and firing. Kim had the bubble shield up to stop the second, third, fourth, and fifth bullet, but the first bullet had ripped into her left arm, leaving a long jagged mark as it hit along the side. The battle suit sealed the wound and began applying regeneration with its unique properties that Wade had given some techno-babble over, but Kim's vision clouded as shock began to take effect. _Ignore it,_ she thought, dropping the bubble shield as she couldn't keep up concentration, to which Windbreaker smiled.

Kim dropped to the ground immediately, barely able to get to the ground before the sixth and last bullet fired, speeding past where her heart had been and hitting the tree, taking a small tuft of her fiery red hair. Kim pushed herself up with her right hand and rushed, only to be thrown away by Windbreaker sending a large blast of air at her, sending Kim into the tree and causing it to collapse after repeated abuse.

XX

Jon Ordai laughed as he saw the MPD officer ducking behind a set of stone stairs, firing his pistol at the two bikers. His sister's motorcycle suddenly lost pressure, skidding.

"Alice! Damn it, cop, you're goin' to get chomped!" he shouted, fury rushing through his veins as be began shooting the officer with his pistol, missing, but forcing the cop to duck. _This is why we should of used my mercenary contacts for this..._ The officer rose and fired again, and his sister went down with a bullet in her leg. His back wheel suddenly gave out and he slid it to the side to come around for another attack. Rather than crash, he was already leaping of and ducking behind and catching the cop with his back exposed...

Suddenly he heard a click behind him and could tell a gun was right at his head, and heard a woman say, "Drop it, or I'll put a bullet through your head."

He turned to hit the female cop, but didn't move fast enough; a bullet went through the flesh between his left shoulder and neck, causing him to scream in horror and pain, his vision clouding as ice shot through his veins. He got one look at the cop; a blond with her hair in a ponytail under the MPD hat, not unlike his sister, and he lost consciousness.

XX

Felix swore as he saw the biker stop outside of his house; he wasn't in his wheel chair, he was sitting in his bed, which was right next to the window, looking out. His mother was at work, so he was alone. He had a feeling based on the biker's Molotov that this wasn't a friend coming by... He pushed himself out of bed, grabbing the rails that were installed next to it to help him limp over to his wheelchair. He needed to get it booted, pronto. Slipped, landing on his face, groaning as he heard his front door being smashed at, battered for forced entry. He pushed himself up as best he could, but his legs weren't strong enough; he reached up, desperately grasping for the rail, but to no avail. He realized it wasn't going to work, and crawled to his wheelchair as his door came down. As he heard rapid steps as the criminal climbed the stairs, he was grabbing the footholds and pulling himself up steadily, crawling into the wheelchair, and turned, sitting into it as his room's door came crashing down.

"You're going to get a mint, aren't you, gimp?" the biker said, holding his Molotov threateningly, "Wait till I get the ransom from your mother; that tech's gonna make me rich!"

"Dream on," Felix said as his chair booted; it'd only take seconds, but those seconds were all the bad guy would need...

"Come on, what are you going to do?" the biker asked with an exausted sigh as he looked at him, "Ram me with your wheelchair?"

"Actually, _yes_." Felix said with a smile as the boot sequence finished, and he launched forward, accelerating on the wheelchair, knocking into the biker and sending him tumbling out of his room, over the broken down door and into the wall. The biker swore and scurried down the stairs. Felix smiled, flipping on his chair's hover mecahnism and went down, reverting it back to wheeled form and turned on one of the robotic claws installed into the chair, which shot forward at the biker and grabbed him by the crotch from below.

"Oh _shit_!" The biker said before howling loudly in pain; Felix, surprised, released the claw, horrified that it actually hit him _there_... he couldn't help but pity the biker as he fell to the ground, gaping like a fish out of water in pain.

XX

Officer Hobble swore, "Man down!" A SWAT officer had been knocked out of the barricade avoiding a Molotov Cocktail, and the bullet had gone into his ribcage. "Cover me!" He leapt out of the barricade as two other SWAT officers laid down fire on the bikers trying to attack from behind. Hobble pulled the groaning officer back into the barricade, where he'd be protected... only for a bullet to go through his head as one of the bikers fired a shotgun one-handed, sending brain and gore into the pavement nearby (and sending the idiotic shotgunner flying away off his bike).

"_Jesus Christ_!" Hobble shouted, drawing his pistol and firing at the offending biker, the bullets missing at first until one found the mark and caused the biker to fall of her bike as a bullet sped through breast, bone, and heart, the bike exploding as it hit another downed bike and the flames landing on the now-dying biker, who was lying there, gasping for air. He wasn't even going to try and save her; he just grabbed the killed SWAT soldier's rifle and got his ass back into the barricade, a pair of bullets hitting his armor from behind and knocking him forward into the sandbag bunker wall.

"There's only a few left, sir!" shouted one of the SWAT soldiers.

"Maybe," Hobble said as he realized the ex-SWAT officer's gun was empty and reloaded with a clip from his belt, "But that doesn't mean the city's safe." _Now I'm starting to regret listening to chief's order to belay the phone chains, this ain't gettin' done quiet like and folks are gonna get hurt wakin' up!_

XX

Kim panted, colors exploding in her head and practically blinding her as she recovered, pushing herself up, only to be blasted again, into the branches of the fallen tree and past, landing on the ground and rolling onto the pavement. She pushed herself up, eyeing Windbreaker, and she charged, dodging an air blast by sidestepping it, then barreling into her, grabbing her and hurling her into the downed tree. Windbreaker didn't get a chance to attack again as Kim sprinted at her, barreling into her and a resounding crack came from her ribs. Kim picked her opponent up and threw her onto the ground, pinning her and binding her hands together.

Windbreaker struggled, trying to knock Kim off, but it was too late; Kim has her pinned, right before slamming her head into the ground to knock her out. She keyed her wrist Kimmunicator; "Wade, I got the super, she's out."

"_Good,"_ Wade said, "_Because there's at least a dozen bikers buzzing the town and trying to throw Molotov's; the police are taking shots at them, but they don't have the mobility to pursue. These are everyday cops, not GJ soldiers. They're taking some serious damage."_

"Got it Wade, I'll do what I can." She cuffed Windbreaker and used a precision nerve pinch to ensure the super was unconscious.

Kim heard a motorcycle rev, and she saw it speeding down the street as the biker did a wheelie, whooping wildly. Allowing a near psychotic smile to form, she rushed at it, and leapt at it, kicking the driver in black biker's leather away and sending him into the pavement, hijacking his ride.

"What the FUUUUUCK!" the biker shouted, almost echoing as he went sailing off, landing on the pavement roughly and bouncing along it a few times before he ended up unconscious on top of a green SUV, which had its alarm go off. Kim slid into the biker seat and started driving it downtown.

When she got there she saw a pair of bikers throwing Molotov Cocktails at the city hall, where a pair of MPD officers were shooting from, using the low stone walls for a semblance of cover. The window was blazing from a Molotov's impact, but someone was inside putting it out with what looked like a bucket of water. Kim put the pedal to the metal, speeding after the nearer biker and she brought her foot up, kicking the biker in the face and sending him tumbling away into a lamppost. The other biker turned and charged Kim, pulling out a jackknife as the police ceased fire to avoid hitting her. She barely avoided the knife as she swerved, and turned the bike, coming around for another round. She scowled, and lanced forward, the two coming near each other again; this time Kim kicked the knife away, causing her opponent to lose control and slam into a nearby street side fence, breaking through it and tumbling down into the alley, landing in a mangled mess.

"Thanks Possible!" shouted one of the police officers, "We owe ya one!"

"No big!" Kim answered before heading to find another one of the bikers to thrash.

XX

Tara thought she heard a thud as she lay in her bed... then another thud... and a crash. She was awake instantly, and heard footsteps rushing up the stairs... and a large man in a leather jacket with a bike helmet in his hands was there.

"Ah!" the biker said, smiling and advancing forward...

"What do you want!" Tara shouted, backing up into her bed...

"Fun!" the biker shouted, moving forward with desolate intent. Tara could feel the fear as her heart beat harder... the man closed on her, grinning...

She kicked him, aiming for his chest but she hit too low, and he roared in fury, his face turning red as his veins seemed to throb, the biker starting to look like something resembling a red hulk... she screamed, rushing past him and down the stairs, only to trip at the front door, rolling forward as she heard another bike speeding down... someone grabbed her leg; it was the biker.

"YOU'LL PAY!" he shouted, about to throw her when something white came down, hitting him in the chest. Tara landed on the ground with a thud, unable to see who'd helped her, but she saw a teal-cyan glow, something human sized colored white, and red hair as hand-to-hand ensued, finally, her savior threw the mad biker into the side of her house, causing him to hit the bushes and was knocked out.

"Tara, you alright?" asked her savior; Kim Possible.

"Kim? When'd you get back?" Tara asked, stuttering in surprise,

"Yesterday;" Kim answered, "Tara, are you sure you're fine?"

"_Tara!"_ shouted her father, the distinct cocking of a shotgun audible, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" she answered as she looked over, her father at the door holding his old shotgun, which he'd promised to greet her boyfriend with when he came... he never followed through. "Thanks to Kim here."

"Thanks, Miss Possible,"

"No big," Kim said, before, to Tara's surprise, she moved one of the biker's bikes, a second one, and drove off, towards where a pair of bikers were coming in their direction... and Kim hit the first one, causing him to be knocked back but he still held onto his bike. Kim was simultaneously avoiding the second one's strike with a large baseball bat.

"What's going on?" Tara asked, blinking, as her father pulled her inside, pointing his shotgun towards the bikers.

XX

Monique was up as she heard someone slamming on the door; she heard her ex-Marine father shouting loudly, "Stay in your room!" She heard the sound of a shotgun cocking. _I wonder if everyone else's dad is in that 'Overprotective Fathers' club..._

The door broke down, and suddenly there was an explosion... and she could smell smoke in the air. She glanced out of her room; her dad was, in his brown robe, moving down the hall to the front door with his shotgun, which he _had_ held when he met her first boyfriend. She heard someone she didn't recognize shout, and heard a gunshot, a ricochet... and a shotgun blast, a crash of glass and a thud as the unknown man screamed. A short time later, a fire extinguisher was heard as the smoke alarm went off.

Monique looked out her window, and saw smoke...

"What the heck is goin' on?" she asked aloud before looking down the street, towards Tara's house... Kim was in a helluva fight. _Get 'em, girl!_

XX

Kim leapt off the bike, landing on her feet as the two bikers turned, grinning at each other. One of them shouted, "_Road kill! Road kill!_" before he drove right at her.

"Big mistake," Kim said, waiting... then activated the battle suit's bubble shield, the two bikers hitting it and getting knocked off to the sides, leaping off their bikes, which crashed into the side of the road...

Then the suit shorted out, the glow fading, the lines returning to their normal dark blue color. _Great;_ Kim thought, feeling herself tire as the suit's boosts ceased to function, cutting her off from what her body was running on. _Back to mortality. Bring it._

"Hah! Fancy suit ain't that good!" said the second biker, pulling out a Molotov Cocktail and lighting it, "Hope you burn, bitch!"

Kim leapt backwards, continuing her leap with a hand spring as she avoided the thrown Molotov.

"Why'd we discard our pistols, Charles?" asked the biker without the Molotov angrily.

"Can it, Ron!" Charles, the biker who'd thrown the Molotov, retorted, "We have our own issues."

"Hope you don't mind being beat up," Kim said, grinning, "Because neither of you are very _un_stoppable."

The two didn't even bother; Ron drew a knife while Charles grabbed a baseball bat off of a back harness. Kim leapt at Charles, hitting him with both feet in his chest, causing him to be sent flying back into his bike. Ron advanced with the knife, swiping at her.

"Hey, maybe I'll get to do you what your boyfriend didn't, same name too, what a coincidence!" shouted her new opponent as she dodged the knife. He stabbed, but Kim simply sidestepped the attack. She threw a pair of punches which were barely avoided, while a follow up kick made contact, causing her opponent to stagger. Following the attack by leaping, she kicked him in the side of the face. Growling, he rushed at her again.

"Get in line," Kim said before punching him in the chest, which she followed up on by grabbing his knife hand and disarming him, before she threw him into his friend. The two were too dazed to get up again.

XXX

Officer Hobble threw the super into one of the paddy wagons that were brought out while the local mortician, Rig Romeo Mortis was working with his assistants to clean up the dead bodies. "Well, this is a mess," he said, glancing at one of the dead bikers whose blood was staining the street as the morticians sealed them into body bags... "We'd better clean the dead up before Possible gets back."

"Why?" asked a SWAT soldier, "We won, let's get the survivors locked up first."  
"She's still young; I'd hate to be the one to break the innocence."

"What innocence, sir? She's been thrashing guys like these since she started high school, I don't think she's afraid of blood."

"No, she isn't. But I don't think she needs to know the carnage that was wrought here. Not all of it."

XX

Wade watched via the satellite as the two surviving bikers sped away from the city for dear life, meeting with the three large, stolen army trucks that carried the gang's supplies as well as a pair of escort bikers, which then proceeded to turn around and flee.

"Hoosha!" the Tweebs said together as they watched, hi-fiving.

"Score one..." Jim began,

"... for the good guys!" Tim finished.

Wade smiled, and called Kim, "Hey, Kim; the remaining bikers are fleeing for the hills."

_"Spankin' Wade; Hobble want help?"_

"No," Wade said as he remembered Hobble's quick call, "He's fine."

_"You sure?"_

"Yeah, Hobble just needs to drag the guys they captured... oh, hang on, incoming call... it's PBD."

Brigadier General Adrian Malta appeared on another monitor; "_Miss Possible, we're here to assist and take custody of the super with in the 'Hel's Demons' biker gang."_

_"Speak with Officer Hobble; he's holding her in custody currently. Wade, can you send us the location?"_

"Sure;" he typed into his console; "He's at the police station."

XX

**Yamanouchi Ninja School**

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron Stoppable glanced around as he entered the school; he'd come alone up the mountain since the ninjas on the plane had to handle their 'cover' duties. They did, at least, give him directions on a small sheet of paper. In English, too. _Nice of them,_ he'd thought, shrugging as he crossed the bridge, tired but otherwise fine.

The school's masonry, unlike the first time he'd come, had a new, near shiny feel to it due to the reconstruction necessary after Yono had destroyed most of the monastery. It had a resemblance to the dream Sensei had used to talk to him. Several students were sparring with Bo Staffs while others were using wooden swords meant to simulate proper swords. A few others were meditating, but the number doing so was typically fewer than those doing comparatively mundane training.

An old Japanese man with a white bushy yet well groomed beard that went down to just above his midsection, clad in red robes with yellow accents, walked up. Ron bowed slightly, as did the man.

"Sensei," Ron greeted politely.

"Stoppable-san," Sensei responded, "It is good that you've come again."

"Good to be back," Ron answered, "Place looks a lot better since last time we were here."

"Indeed," Sensei said as they walked towards the main building, "The construction was not as long as I had feared. Some is still being repaired, but for the most part, we have returned to normal."

_Normal as a ninja school gets anyways,_ Ron thought with a smirk. "Yori here?"

"No, she's currently with her family in Yokohama."

"Ah. Ah well, I'll see her later." Ron said, shrugging. Sensei looked at him curiously. "Ah... NOT that I have any serious business to do... heh heh." He blushed, putting a hand behind his head as he hid embarrassment behind a goofy grin. _Man I'm glad KP didn't come now... she'd so be mad at me about that._

Sensei chuckled in his deep voice as they entered the main building. "Well, Stoppable-san, I believe that you wish to get down to business immediately."

"Yeah, I wanna get back to Kim at a reasonable time. Before college starts."

Sensei frowned, "I take it you will not extend the training. Very well. This is a very short time to teach you what you need to know... but I can lay the ground work for you to forge your own path."

Ron nodded, "Sorry, but if I don't get back in Middleton by the time college starts, some people are gonna be suspicious."

"I understand," Sensei said, "Very well; I'll show you to your room, then meet me in the main dojo; Hirotaka will spar with you with staves as a warm up. After that, we will begin your training properly."

Ron nodded as they entered the sleeping quarters, slipping his backpack off and putting in the floor.

XX

**Middleton**

**Colorado, USA**

Kim pulled the Sloth up to the MPD station and parked; she's stopped by her house to get the car as she was tired of running all over the place (and to get her wounds checked quickly). A pair of PBD Humvees and an armored paddy wagon were parked outside with a pair of unusually professional, disciplined PBD soldiers remaining outside. As she got out, she nodded to them, and one nodded back short and curtly, before returning to his guard duty.

She entered the station, where Brigadier-General Adrian Malta was discussing with Officer Hobble about the prisoner.

"She's some sorta air gal... you see that Avatar cartoon lately? Like that..." Hobble was explaining with some difficulty.

"My son watches it. Hrmpf. That's disturbing. Have you determined her powers' origin?" Malta asked in return.

"Probably a lab accident or something weird like that. Frankly, General, I'm just a law enforcer, not a super expert. You'd have to run a DNA test or something like that if you want that kind of answer."

"I understand, I understand," Malta said, nodding, then he turned, "Ah, Miss Possible..." he looked at her battle suit, frowning momentarily, then said, "Good to see you came out unhurt."

"Mostly," Kim answered, "Few scratches, but there's no drama there." It was also fairly true; the few gunshots she'd suffered were grazes that the suit had sealed and her mother had managed to clean them. The wounds wouldn't last too long.

Malta nodded and turned to Hobble, "I'll have Sergeant Paolo Marino handle this 'Windbreaker' super and bring her to our facility. The transfer will take some time as we initiate anti-super-power countermeasures, so you're aware, Officer." He turned back to Kim; "Miss Possible; would you like to accompany us? It'd help with security in case she has friends as well as allow us to have the conversation I had hoped we could have."

Kim paused, frowning; she had no commitments; the trip to Upperton would be short; fifteen minutes at best, twenty at worst, plus the time to get to the PBD firebase.

"Sure." Kim said, "I just want to change into something else since the fight's over; battle suit is out of juice, all that stuff."

Malta nodded, "It'll take us about ten minutes to make the transfer to the paddy wagon; once we do that, I want to be moving ASAP. If we've left, head to Upperton and catch up with us."

"Just don't go over the speed limit," Hobble said, more to Malta than to Kim, "Though if the super breaks out, I guess speed laws are sort of useless."

Kim nodded; after Motor Ed's incident with the Kepler rocket (and a critic pointing out the technical illegality of her going _hundreds_ of miles beyond the speed limit), the Middleton Police Department had given her a partial pass on the speed laws as long as it was done when there was a visible threat, but the threat was defined by MPD or a higher governmental authority, just to keep it from being abused.

XX

**Forty Minutes Later**

**Upperton, Colorado**

**PBD Firebase **_**Alternate-1**_

Kim, wearing her backup set of her mission outfit (just to look somewhat professional in the base), followed Malta into his office; the Brigadier General walked over and poured himself a shot glass of an amber liquid. He smiled at her sadly, and said, "If you were about four years older, I'd offer you some of the scotch."

"Thanks, but no. You have a water instead?"

Malta nodded, pulling out a small bottle water from his desk. "If you ever get a desk job, here's a suggestion: Keep a six-pack under the desk, you never know. Scratch that, twenty-four pack, some meetings are long." He took a sip of his scotch as he slid the bottle across his desk, "The first few weeks on the job were rough, especially when the vending machine is at the other end of the base."

"Thanks," Kim said as she took it, standing next to the general as he looked out the triple-paned window. "So, what's the stich you wanted to talk to be about?"

"The so-called 'supers.'" He answered, starting to pace. Kim moved by the desk, standing there as he paced. "You see, PBD is trying to gain a lid on the situation, to stop it in phase one rather than having a race against time when the issue is nearly irreversibly out of control short of martial law and a lotta good men _dead_. Unfortunately, there's no laws or regulations that apply to these supers that are not already in the law. If anything, authorized vigilantism is more common than regulations prohibiting supers from using their abilities as such, much like it is in Colorado, but often on a smaller scale. Global Justice especially seems to back this, you probably noticed it with some of the supers you've worked with in the course of your... career, for lack of better nomenclature."

Kim blinked, recalling Shego mentioning in passing once that in her superhero days, Go City have given them written approval and authorization to assist against the various super-powered threats that had begun threatening the city and giving GCPD SWAT more than they could chew, so long as they used the same bylaws the police did when in action, especially towards lethality. Kim wondered briefly is some government official had one for her in some file prior to Colorado passing a bill to legalize vigilantism in certain cases and with registration, before answering, "If cities chose to, I don't see why they can't. If anything, it's better, because it encourages said supers to stick around, collateral or no, and own up to what they do."

"Perhaps, but it also seems to give them a pass on said collateral, and has little in place to prevent abuse. You're aware of Jack Hench, correct?"

"Unfortunately."

"He hasn't been incarcerated for his arms dealing, yet he operates fairly openly. When I read his file, I was surprised to find out _you'd_ done some work with him once."

"Only because we didn't know about him at the time," Kim commented, "Had to renege and get the tech to GJ though, which pretty much put us on the top of his hit list."

"And you swiped from him a few times after," Malta said with a smile, "Thwarting stage one for most likely several plans."

"Yeah, I guess. Hench never learned proper security measures that couldn't be bypassed with a little twisting. I'd still do it even if he smartened up."

Malta nodded, "Good to know you're still up for the good fight. PBD needs good people, but more than that, we need experts. Experts on fighting 'superpowered' individuals who're trying to threaten the peace."

"Is this a recruitment drive?" Kim asked, frowning, "I haven't even started college yet."

"No, not today." Malta answered with a chuckle before turning serious, "But I've always wondered; you're a civilian woman who pretty much just said 'alright, why not', and started taking on super powered individuals with nothing more than a pair of steel ba- er, ovaries." he coughed into his hand at the slip of biology, "Amazingly effective, no denying it, and likely humiliated many of the rogues you faced. I think PBD needs that experience, we need normal, everyday people who're willing to say the same thing and go toe-to-toe with those supers. I'm not going to ask that you join us, not today, but I am going to ask that you help with teaching them techniques to fight supers. Teach them what you know from _experience_." He took a swig from his glass, emptying it, before walking back to his desk and putting it in a coaster, looking out the window again. "These're dangerous times; you can't go to visit your own mother now without the risk of being a bystander in a super powered brawl. And with the breakdown of law in some areas of the country, some areas of the _world_, I'm worried more than I usually am. The 'Hel's Demons' gang incarcerated today is just one example. Too much damage and too many things unraveled at once; now here we are, trying to pick up the pieces."

"It's not all bad; a lot of the 'supers' that were exposed are trying to use their powers to help their neighbors against these threats." Kim countered, "I'll admit a lot of them need schooling and some more restraint in a fight, but they aren't all bad."

"Perhaps, perhaps, but as it is now, there's nothing to document any super short of what's gathered by the police by the usual methods. No records of their powers provided by them in most cases. The Colorado bill wasn't designed with superpowered heroes in mind, considering it was mostly pulled up to shut up a bunch of critics who disapproved of you and made a legal case." Malta turned, "That's why I brought the proposal to the UN on behalf of 'Innocents for Public Safety', we need stronger measures, _now_. Globally, if possible. I won't ask any commitments, but you have some political weight by reputation. If you start backing an effort either for regulations on supers or against such, _you're word will have weight on deciding figures_. You're respected, by people on both sides of the argument, and if you argued a case well, or even just argued it at all, you could sway opinions."

"And what? You want my support on stronger measures?"

"If that's what you wish to do, yes." Malta said down, holding an open hand, but not to shake, "I won't try to force any choice on you; I may make stupid mistakes, I'm human after all, but there's a limit to how much stupid humanity can try. Trying to force you to do something, even if you want to, is one of those things that proves natural selection isn't doing its job."

Kim appreciated the compliment, but she didn't let it fool her, "Look, General; I appreciate what you're trying to tell me, but I know how to handle myself, and keep others safe. I'm not a fan of getting into the political arena; I'll certainly give my opinion if I'm asked, but I'm not going to run for office or something like that; it's not my style, I'm suited for the field, not a desk." She paused, then asked, "Is there anything else?"

"Actually, yes, a small piece of business; your friend Mister Load has been helping our research, thanks to you gathering samples in your travels. I wanted to thank you for that, and hope you continue to do so. Some of the results have been, to quote one of the techs here, 'enlightening' about supers."

"No big, General; just doing what I can."

Malta smiled, "That's the attitude that got you this far, Possible. We need more of you in the world."

"Ah, that's been tried." she answered with a smile, "Didn't go very well since they weren't very stable."

Malta paused, confused for a second, then just shook his head. She, of course, knew exactly what he meant, but she did remember Drakken's 'cloning' attempts (though technically, they weren't clones), and mused that if someone _did_ clone her, there'd be a lot of problems, the least of which being identifying who the real one was. She nodded, and said, "I'll be in Middleton if PBD needs me," with a nod from the General, she left.

X

Malta watched out the window as Kim drove out of the base in her car. While he did so, he wondered briefly how she handled the fact that, realizing it or not, she'd killed today. _A couple bikers, all dead because of her direct actions in combat. Perfectly legit engagement since she was working on behalf of MPD and the bikers had the intent of killing people quite high in their minds, but that has to damage her psyche. I wonder if she actually knows... she doesn't seem to, and any indication says she's still hesitant about killing._

He paced, frowning. _She'll loose that soon, that no killing. She won't like it, but she'll eventually be hardened by reality. It's only so long until she has to kill someone in cold blood for her hero work._ He then, curiously, brought up a few files he had access to, wondering if she, unbeknownst to herself, killed before this day. He wasn't surprised to find that a few indirect deaths had occurred at her hands. And these deaths were conspicuously missing from most news reports except backwater critics who had nothing better to do then nitpick.

"Only a matter of time," he finally said to himself, sighing as he poured himself another shot of scotch, "I just hope she survives the realization." He frowned, then pulled up the psychological evaluation report on his computer, curious as to what psychologists thought of her mental state. To his little surprise, they had concern of her somewhat breezy attitude towards lethal situations, but said she was otherwise stable.

XX

**Yamanouchi Ninja School**

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron ducked as Hirotaka swung the staff high, before responding with a low sweep. Hirotaka had responded with lightning reflexes, leaping into the air and avoiding the attack, and came in from behind and swatted Ron along the back, knocking him forward with a groan. "Ow..." He whirled around, parrying a series of rapid, swift strikes.

"Woohoo!" Rufus shouted from the sideline where he was sitting, watching from the railing. Ron ignored that, however, focusing on his opponent. He began an attack of his own, aiming for Hriotaka's head, but the blow did not connect, but it allowed Ron to attack again, this time lower, connected with his opponent's midsection and knocking him back briefly. He didn't stop; he continued the attack, forcing Hirotaka back... or so he thought, as Hirotaka unleashed a full counter attack, the two stalemating as they traded blows consistently, neither gaining any more hits for at least a minute.

"That's enough," said the dojo's current master, walking over to the two. They got their last blows, both parried, and stopped. Ron started to pant, wiping sweat from his forehead. Hirotaka bowed politely, and Ron returned it.

"Good fight," Ron said out of habit; _Ah, I gotta shove the gamer etiquette around here... even if it's true._

Hirotaka smiled, as if he understood the reference, and nodded, "Indeed, Stoppable-san. I will see you later." With that, he left. Ron turned towards one of the back training areas, used for direct master-to-pupil training. Rufus followed at his feet as he entered one of the circular sparing grounds. Sensei was waiting next to it, sitting peacefully on the stone bench.

"Stoppable-san;" Sensei said, rising slowly, "There are some things that you will have to understand before we begin training."

Ron nodded, holding his hands behind his back politely as he listened.

"First; you must understand that your magical powers do not manifest in the 'western' style, in lack of a better term. Your abilities are more spiritual; subtle. You do not create powerful storms of magic, no, instead you channel energy to amplify your natural abilities."

Ron frowned, remembering Graduation; _That was a storm alright; rocky updraft and all..._

"There will be times where you deviate towards the stereotypical style you are aware of, but these will be rare times. Your abilities are defensive in nature, yet carry great offensive power should you chose to manifest them so. You are a warrior of the front, not a scholar of the back. You must understand this concept, to minimize any expectations that will result in a cultural block and hinder your learning."

He wasn't sure if he quite understood what he meant... _So what? I just punch people really hard and occasionally go nuts? Well, guess I won't be playing a mage in any LARP... hah!_

"If you understand this, we can move onto the true training, Stoppable-san. Come, sit. Let us meditate."

The two sat down, and Ron closed his eyes, listening.

"Your power is indeed magical in nature, but the question you must face is do you wish to be the master, or do you wish to be mastered? You have _great responsibility_ with your powers. You must act wisely when using them. You cannot allow delusions of grandeur to affect your actions, you must never let yourself forget your body. Your power comes from your body; if it cannot sustain the power you wish to use, you will suffer for such. If you overreach yourself, the penalties are... severe."

Ron thought on that, mulling it over, before Sensei continued;

"The foundation of your education must be solid as stone, you must have control. You can learn much without formal training by experience, but only if you have the foundation of control. The powers granted to you are your destiny; but your destiny is in your own hands now. I can only offer guidance on that path. It is you; you are the one who must make the choice."

If it weren't for his respect of the man or the importance of the topic, Ron suspected he would of fallen asleep at what he, in the back of his mind, suspected was, in a nutshell, _'use your powers wisely, etc. etc._' He listened still, knowing that he was a living time bomb with his powers. _I have to be able to control this; I don't want to risk hurting Kim or Wade or Rufus or anyone because I can't control my own powers._

"As such, we will begin with concentration; you have to be able to focus so that when you do chose to use your power, you can maintain control even as you're being assaulted by dozens of blades, burnt with fire, and disemboweled."

"Ew..." Ron whispered at the last one, then he realized something; "Wait, Sensei... I've always been able to tap into my powers when I was, ya'know, angry or something... how am I supposed to tap into them when I'm calm? It seems kinda contradictory to what I can do."

Sensei seemed to smile, "Raw emotion can unlock barriers normally impenetrable, but such is an uncertain, unreliable method of using your powers. You must learn to consciously use them, not only when you are angry. Doing so means that even when you're angry, you can use them, and to an even greater effect, for you will have that extra reserve unlocked in addition to your control. Both are powerful tools, but you must not come to rely on either."

XX

**Go City, Nebraska**

Hego sighed as he locked the door behind him, as he'd finished cleaning after the Mucho Grande Bueno Nacho had closed for the night. _How I miss the old days when we put criminals in the jails on a more regular basis... when we were a true team. Just isn't the same anymore bagging the occasional fool who tries to rob the Grande after it's closed, thinking their uncivilized guns would be enough protection. That 'Shieldbash' fellow GJ wants us to teach is shaping up, though..._

Looking around, he opened his (recently bought) truck and buckled up, turning it on, checking his mirrors, and with the lane clear on the quiet night, drove off. He turned the radio on;

_"This is Frank Williams, and you're listening to Radio News America! Tonight we have some very good news; the 'Hel's Demons' biker gang that's been causing ruckus down in Colorado got slammed today."_

That news brightened Hego's day immediately; _The 'Hel's Demons' have caused terror for too long, it's good to see justice come through._

"_The bikers tried to hit the Tri-city area, unfortunately for them, they picked a fight with world-famous teen hero Kim Possible; even their super powered leader couldn't stand up to her. Reports are thin, and all we know is what we just told you, but inside sources said that the Middleton Police Department's SWAT team managed to blunt the raiders while Possible mopped up those who got past. Mostly injuries as far as MPD went, one fatality, Officer Jacob Jenkins, but otherwise the fight was a minimal event. Now then, how about we swing on over to Seattle and talk with our Chad Vasfens, whose reporting on another incident that happened in the docks. What can you tell us, Chad?"_

"_Well Frank,"_ said the nasally-sounding reporter,_ "we had another fight. This one was a weird one though; unlike most, the participants weren't just a pair of supers; this time it was two _teams_ of them. One group looked like gangsters, while the others had a more professional look. The fighting occurred in a shipping storage area; no one was hurt outside of these unknown supers, but eyewitness reports say that both wielded forms of energy, mostly sending them in small orb-like projectiles at each other or blocking similarly. One set off a fire, but another chilled it with some form of frost. No one knows exactly what happened; by the time the police showed, everything was gone save the damage left over."_

Hego frowned; he didn't know if it was a group of vile criminals facing a small team of valiant heroes, or if evil was fighting each other and putting innocents at risk. _If it's the former, the hero team needs to inform their city of their actions and gain a sanction for their vigilante actions, just like we did. That's the way things are done._

He listened to the rest of the report as he drove to the small apartment that he maintained for his alter-ego as a mild-mannered restaurant manager.

"_Anyways, Chad; what's the Seattle Police statement on this?"_ Frank asked.

_"They're advising all citizenry to remain alert and are reminding them that they only have one dockworker's story and some battle damage to go by; damage that can be caused by far more mundane methods, such as a blow torch and extinguisher."_

_"So they don't think this _is_ a super powered incident?"_

_"They don't; but then again, a lotta folks would wish that these guys didn't exist, wouldn't they?"_

_"Don't blame 'em, considering the incident I had two weeks back. So, anything else Chad?"_

_"Not right now. Back to you, Frank."_

_"There's also been reports of several more super powered incidents in France today as a pair of supers were apparently fighting on top of the Eiffel Tower, and another in downtown Paris; police report indicates that the French government had no awareness of said supers, but they're taking counter measures that have been in the works for a few months at this point. Our contact in Berlin also reports another similar incident near a remaining section of the Berlin Wall, destroyed at the end of the Cold War. Incidents like this have been becoming increasingly frequent. After the break, our interview with Commander Johan Sheppard of a new English initiative that was unveiled this morning... GMT, that is."_ With perfect timing, Hego shut the radio off and got out. Within minutes, he'd slipped into his Team Go costume and slipped into one of the many concealed passageways that lead to the tower.

XX

**Late Evening**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim was sitting in the living room, her left arm bandaged from the gunshot wound, reading a book as Wade walked in, reading something on a mobile reader; "Kim;" he said grimly.

"Wade?" she asked, putting the book down, a hint of worry growing in her heart, a heart still unaware she had killed that day, but something was feeling odd inside her, gnawing at the back of her mind, "What's wrong?"

"The battle suit... again."

She sighed, any worry of that gnawing feeling vanishing in an instant, "Is it glitchin', or do I have to take meds again?"

"Meds;" Wade said, "Got the compound all set; your mom just needs to check it."

Kim let an annoyed growl leave her lips; the last time she needed to take the medications was after the initial usages of the battle suit. It didn't permanently hurt her, but she did feel like it she was becoming addicted to the boosts it provided, and it turned out that after a few days of using it to foil villains, withdrawal from using the suit knocked her sick into bed for a day. The good news was that Wade had fixed it, and she hadn't had that issue... until the battle suit started malfunctioning after her cousin Larry used it. She remembered the memories after Lil Diablo. _Tastes horrible, taste doesn't go away, but at least it's not like the radiation is an incurable issue. I'll take what I can get... wish Ron was here; he was there last time when I had to choke down the stuff, he isn't here this time..._

"Alright; let me know when it's ready."

"Sure thing;" Wade said, before he went off to do whatever it was he did.

XX

**Deadmerc's Haven**

**Location Undisclosed; **

**Somewhere near the Amazon Rain Forest, South America**

Shego ignited her powers and hurled a bolt of plasma at the man, "Back off, farm boy!" she shouted as the farm boy turned mercenary was blasted away for trying to make a move on her.

"Get her!" shouted another mercenary in the bar.

"_BAAAARRRR FIIIIIGHHHHT_!" shouted a burly, muscular, walking _ogre_ of a man, who proceeded to punch one of the mercenaries near him into the wall. The bar quickly erupted into a fight as every mercenary seemed to try to kill each other with beer bottles, fists, and bodily abuse to tender areas.

"_Screaming Eagles_, stun mode!" shouted Captain Joshua Mitchell, the man she had been having an interesting discussion with mere moments ago. A group of silver-clad mercenaries, in booths in various places in the bar, suddenly and near simultaneously drew electric tasers, shoving rebreathers into their mouths as Mitchell pulled a grenade; "Hold your breath," he said somewhat quietly, then inhaled as he threw it. The grenade exploded into a puff of smoke, and the Screaming Eagle mercenaries moved in, quickly subduing the brawlers who were coughing with their tasers. Others who hadn't gotten involved were caught in the smoke, coughing roughly, but the Screaming Eagle mercenaries avoided tasing them.

A mercenary exclaimed something in Portuguese before she collapsed from the stink solution. The solution dissipated shortly after as each of the Screaming Eagles registered the area being clear, and Mitchell let his breath out. "Sorry about that, barkeep." He said, looking to the bartender, who, out of habit, wore a gas mask. "Add any complaints to my tab."

"No problem," the barkeeper said, his voice sounding gravely from the mask, his breathing not unlike Vader himself, "Frankly, that was some move. You really have a contingency for that happening?"

"Only when we're staying in Deadmerc's Haven to meet new guys; can't be paranoid enough here. We're shipping out tomorrow; got a contract for us to fulfill and I got my new guys."

"Hope you don't intend to use the silver in a real fight," Shego sarcastically commented as she looked at the outfits, "That's asking to get shot."

"Nah, we have camo outfits; grey this time. Some urban problem in the UK; London's paying pretty good."

Shego shrugged, "So, where's the guy we were talking about?"

Mitchell handed her a small map; "Here's his location; small marina out of town. Only reason I'm giving you this, by the way, is because this guys a corrupt hick who needs his ass served on a gold platter. They say he found some interesting data."

Shego nodded, flipping a token onto the bar, the barkeep taking it and examining it, nodding, and putting it into the register. _Gotta love free drink tokens; only good to you since it's got your name on it, so no point in stealing. Least this Mitchell guy thinks I went legit since I helped thwart those dumb aliens..._ she thought with a smirk before walking out of the bar into the streets. The streets were a mess, but she fit in there; there were caped, cowl-wearing, and decked out supers, both villain and mercenary, and plenty of gaudy outfits. Several mercs were brawling in a back alley as she walked pass, one of them, a smaller African mercenary flying over her head a larger African mercenary threw him out of the alley. Shego turned as the large mercenary advanced on her, charging her powers and sending a pair of plasma bursts at him. The two bursts hit, one in the chest, knocking him back, the second connecting with his family jewels. She send a third to keep him down and walked on as the fight continued.

Deadmerc's Haven was what everyone thought of when they thought of the words 'pirate town'. It was tightly packed, it had people of every ethnicity; Deadmerc's Haven was the place to fade into obscurity, as long as you could defend yourself. The law was different district to district, and enforcement varied, but the place was no clean suburb. It was one reason Shego liked it; she could walk down the street without having to worry about PBD or the police trying to arrest her, and it was a good place to get dirt needed for various jobs.

The central market was a mess; the only 'clean' area was a HenchCo dealership, which was guarded by buff guards in Hench's colors, enhanced by some of Hench's remaining molecular muscle enhancers, and likely a couple other tricks. Other vendors were hawking assorted wares, from food to weaponry and ammo... of questionable quality.

X

As Shego reached the docks, she walked to the small speedboat she had parked, loaned from Drakken, and hopped in, pulling the key out of her pocket and turning it, entering her code into the side 10-digit keypad, and drove out, entering the coordinates into the speedboat's GPS. _Not too far out; good. Shouldn't get too much attention._ She followed the GPS for a few minutes, then saw a small dockside leading up to a small complex; that was her target. _Let's see what Orland's got up his sleeve this time._ she thought as she hid the speedboat in a nearby lagoon, and crept towards the marina base by land, the thick foliage covering her.

She eyed the perimeter security; a eight and a half foot wooden palisade surrounding the complex, reinforced with stone towers about 9 feet high as pivot points. The small towers had a simple turret atop, which she recognized as one of HenchCo's auto-turrets; simple, one gun turrets that had reasonable amounts of ammo, but needed to be reloaded after every three hundred shots and could only aim in a 180 degree arc in front of it. _Still, not bad to have as perimeter turrets when you have IFF for each one,_ she mused, knowing that she'd be on the 'foe' list, most likely. Especially after the last time she busted Orland; when she was a hero.

She smiled as she found a weak spot; a corner where there was considerable foliage, a large tree, next to the wall. One shot of plasma, and she could disable the auto turret and slip in undetected...

She climbed up to a tree next to the turret, and crawled as close as she could without being detected, then quietly sent a single bolt of plasma at the turret, causing it to spin and smoke a small amount, shutting down. She leapt over from the tree to the wall, sliding over and onto the ground below, and crept ahead quickly, sticking to the bushes. The inner area was like a hedge mage, but there were no more turrets, but mercenaries were on patrol, carrying shotguns and wearing light body armor. _Hardly enough to protect them from me, but I don't want to get shot. That's... unpleasant._

She leapt over the hedge, landing softly at the other side, and moved towards the main building, a square, grey building at about three stories. This one had no turrets, but it looked like someone was laying down foundations for four towers on the corners. She ducked under a bush as a guard clad in light grey armor came patrolling, holding his shotgun casually.

The merc said something in Spanish, but Shego couldn't understand any of it. It sounded like he was bored, though. She waited for him to pass, then slipped out of the bush and crept to the side of the wall. There was a window open above, and Shego knew that was how she was getting in. She leapt onto a nearby bush, which was sturdy enough to hold her thanks to its thickness, and climbed up. She turned, and leapt towards the window, grabbing the edge and holding on tightly as she nearly slipped.

"Did'ya hear something?" asked someone inside, in English with a heavy Brazilian accent.

"Nah... hey, wait, what's that?" answered another mercenary, who spoke with a thick British accent, telling Shego why the other one was speaking in English.

_Uh oh,_ Shego thought, before pushing her legs off the concrete wall and swinging up; she felt her boots make contact with something and heard a man shout in pain. She was in, and had kicked one of the mercenaries away, him still between the other one. She rushed him, igniting her plasma and punching him into his friend before sending a few bolts at them to keep them quiet. She walked over to one and took his earpiece.

Fitting it into her ear, she listened to the radio chatter; all seemed to be normal. No one had noticed her... yet. She opened the door, and found herself in a hallway. _Need to find a security room,_ she decided, _I need a layout of the place before I try to slip into anything..._

Moving down the hallway, she jumped a mercenary as he turned, knocking the shotgun out of his hands and slamming him into the wall, leaving him unconscious. She was about to move on when she noticed he had a chevron on his shoulder; the others didn't. She searched him quickly, finding a pass card with a blue mark on it. _Perfect,_ she thought, and moved on, finding a door with a blue mark on it a story down; she had to knock out a pair of guards, and as she entered, a shotgun went off, nearly killing her as the burst sailed over her head. She didn't give the shotgun-armed security controller a second chance; she hurled a bolt of plasma at him, hitting him in the head and sending him over a back console and into the wall. _Bam, headshot._ Shego thought as she walked up, tapping into the security system and disabling the defenses, then destroyed the console to prevent them from being reactivated there. The communication console beeped, and Orland appeared.

"_What the hell is going on Armand... oh for fuck's sake_! _What're you doing here?_" Orland shouted as he looked out of the small camera on the console.

"What're you into now, Orland? Thought you'd given up screwing around after you got thrashed by my brothers. And me."

"_Damn it; how'd you find me? You'd better leave now, Shego; I've upgraded my forces since the last time we met."_

"Not really," Shego commented with a snort, "You just went from cheap city bangers with baseball bats to guys with shotguns." With that, she shut it off and moved on.

X

Having slipped into the main hall, Shego could now see a dozen of Orland's mooks lined up, cover set up, outside of a sturdy, important-looking door.

"This might be interesting," Shego said, charging her powers and hurling a spray of bolts at the soldiers as she leapt into the air, grabbing a chandelier and swinging across as shotgun shells, solid slugs, sped to where she'd been seconds before and mercenaries shouted in pain as they got hit with plasma. She sent another wave as she used a backwards handspring, a shotgun shell speeding over her, close enough she could feel the air whistling by her, and she came up; only two mercenaries were still standing, the others dazed and recovering. Shego fired a few more bursts of plasma, and rushed forward, leaping up and grabbing a decorative flagpole, swinging on it and leaping over their makeshift barricade, another shotgun shell missing her and hitting the flagpole, shattering it. She landed on the first standing mercenary, knocking him to the floor, and she punched the other mercenary. She picked up one of the down mercenaries and hurled him into his friends, then rushed two mercenaries who were recovering, punching the rightmost one, then hurling him into the second.

She smiled as she saw the mercenaries on the floor, used as wipes. She finished each one off with her powers; it was easy to do and she didn't have to worry about police showing up to check the deaths. She blasted the door the mercs were guarding open, revealing Orland in his private quarters.

"Shit!" he shouted, drawing a pistol and taking a shot; the bullet sped past, hitting the door frame as Shego rolled to the side, leapt onto the wall, pushed herself off and sailed over another two bullets, then sprung at Orland, barreling into him and knocking his gun away. She pinned him to the wall, only to be kicked back into the other wall, which she hit with a grunt.

"Think I wasn't smart after last time?" he said, his hands and feet glowing red as he wore specialized boots and gauntlets which had glowing bars, "I got myself some gauntlets that can take your plasma and hit just as hard."

"Have it your way," Shego said, spraying a pair of plasma bolts at him before sprinting forward. Orland blocked the two bolts with his hands, the gauntlets taking and redirecting the plasma to the sides, the green energy leaving burn marks on the walls. The two began to brawl, Shego pinning Orland down, and she kneed him in the gut once, twice, thrice, and the mercenary captain screamed. Orland than managed to get a hand under get and punched her in the chest, sending her into the ceiling as the gauntlet's power amplified Orland's strength. She fell down as Orland got out of the way.

_I'm just glad we all got innate resistances from that meteor,_ Shego mused as she pushed herself up, _Or we'd of been toast fighting Vandals... hell, princess would of killed me a year ago if I didn't have it..._

She sprinted at Orland, who rolled to the side and kicked her in the back, knocking her forward. She turned and attacked viciously, swiping for Orland's legs, but he slid them out of the way and punched, this punch only just missing. She retaliated with a kick, catching his leg and knocking him over. Orland responded immediately, launching himself forward and barreling into Shego. The two collided into a four-poster bed, knocking two of the four beams out and causing the other two to snap from sheer stress. She kicked him off, and fired another plasma bolt at him; Orland caught it in the gut and was sent into the wall, and he collapsed.

"Ugh... damn it..." he said, shaking his head, "How'd this happen again..."

"That hurt?" Shego asked sarcastically as she put her hand to his throat, plasma charging, as if holding a knife to him, "Well get used to it;"

"Look, look!" Orland shouted, horrified, "I'll give you the damn data, alright! Take it already!"

She charged her powers, and tapped him in the head. A small green energy ball slid into his forehead, and he collapsed, unconscious. "Deal." she said, taking an ID card from him and walking to the back, opening the closet.

Inside was a single computer, but she knew what was in it. She entered the ID card to a reader, and the screen read:

**Welcome Back, Orland**

Smiling, she accessed his data, and found the data file she'd learned of...

_"Report; 6/2/08; Logged by Jonathan Miller._

_- Recovered the core of one of the alien walkers; according to my contact, it ought to have interesting information, if his translation magic-thingy works._

_- Contact confirmed it had information; copy follows._

_"__Hunter-Walker 30-33-12; sending alert to Warbeak's Hunter Lodge; attack failed; indigenous species discovered to have magical talent and usage, in addition to having Class V technology with Class VI in development. Hunt failed; error, error, error..."_

_- Additional data indicates the two reported aliens are part of some 'Hunter' caste of some alien species similar to humanity, just ten feet tall and green."_

Then there was another report that caught her eye; someone, apparently a mercenary, had salvaged the lorwardian ship after it'd went down, despite having a hole blown straight through it, splattering most of the engine and back part across town while the rest was sent by harsh gravity into Lake Middleton, someone had managed to salvage it before GJ did. _That takes a lotta guts and good organization,_ Shego thought approvingly, _Damn impressive._

The report suddenly horrified Shego; it was a detailed account of how Warmonga and Warhok hadn't even had government backing from wherever they lived, just their own equipment, and a recovered text from their data base indicated that the species hated magic... and the detection of magic on a planet often called in further forces, especially if there was a successful resistance.

_Not my problem,_ Shego decided at last, _I ain't a magic user. Let the army handle it... or GJ. Or any of these supers kicking around; we rose up once and slammed 'em, we'll do it again. Long as we keep some semblance of order and don't get too caught up fighting each other, we'll be fine. By the time they send troops here, we'd of cleaned up from the attack and have tech going again._

Then she thought about the last two months and the resulting chaos going around... and she frowned, looking at another data point...

Orland had gotten his hands on a number of HenchCo Mobile Synthodrone Production Facilities, MSPF's... _And Orland's after some "Generalissimo" guy, maybe working with him... hey, has a link... storage base in the Australian Outback? That's where most of the MSPF's are, but there's something more there too..._

Her interest was piqued now; there was serious hardware being prepared for something **big**. _Very least I can tell Possible that some new crazy has a take over the world scheme. Maybe I can just give it to the Doc; he'd like that. Wouldn't be able to use it, probably, but he'd like it._

She transferred the data to her personal flash drive after changing the access codes so she'd be able to use it. _Who knows? If there is another scrap with the aliens coming, figure having a heads up will help._

XX

**End Chapter**

**Author's Notes:**

**- This is, in a funny way, a overly long prologue; there is less of an over-arching story and more smaller arcs that form a whole; I'm not sure how long it'll go, considering the stories to be told are quite numbered, but since I'm steadily moving through to the established deadline that I set, I think I won't go beyond twenty chapters before the proverbial 'prologue' ends. Could be wrong though.**

**- Kim's not invincible; she ain't bullet proof; but she has a lot of will power to be able to **_**ignore**_** gunshot wounds, but they were self-admittedly mild gunshot wounds. The battle suit, obviously, seals the wounds, as seen in **_**So the Drama**_**. (Wasn't actually proof it healed the wounds, but I'd assume so, considering it didn't stain, though that may be something else entirely). As far as her having killed without knowing it; well, I have a **_**hard**_** time believing that she hasn't indirectly done so. She doesn't have to know, but with her lifestyle, I wouldn't be surprised if she's unintentionally killed a henchmen here or there. Really prevalent in the games; sometimes you wind up knocking dozens of henchmen into... vats of toxic waste, magma, shark-infested waters in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, and McHenry Laser Grids, all in natural game play... being a deconstruction, I'm taking that idea and playing with it. OSHA should be filing a few complaints to the villains lairs, now that I think about it...**

**- Mercenaries and HenchCo... well, it's a world going down, mercenaries are gonna be in demand with the governments all spent from the alien attack; besides, mercenaries are always an interesting angle to look at.**

**- HenchCo will Hench-deal with anybody, so why not have a shop in the world's established hive of scum and ****villainy,**** ah, mercenary? Makes sense that there'd be at least one place where it's wild, like a stereotypical pirate town (which, to be fair, has to be pretty true, or how would it become a stereotype in the first place?)**

**- Hel's Demons; just one example of what's going onto the world now in the story; not as extreme, but consider that Middleton survived, other towns weren't so lucky. Sort of gave disposable villains for a good old fashioned curbstombing.**

_**In Universe Document:**_

-=**Document Recovery: "Wade's Files: Battle Suit" (Part 1)=-**

_- Source: Wade's Computer_

_**Battle Suit:**_

_- 9/31/03: Sweet Momma Cass... seeing Kim in the Centurion Project was _**awesome**_! So many levels of awesome, I think I just lost brain cells... not like I needed those extra ones but... wow... just wow... and she didn't even have practice with the Centurion Project! Lab is going to be enjoying the data I'm sending with this! Haha! Score one for science! Shame it took lying to activate it, but hey, it's supposed to be stress based from what I know. Huh, I wonder what Kim could do with a suit I made... oh man... yes, the inspiration is flashing before me... I can imagine it in my head... the sheer awesome of it is so powerful my legs are tensing, and my ribs feel like they're going to snap from the awesome... I have to get to work, _now_, this is going to be a huge project..._

_-10/1/03: Good news was that I have a backup of the data I gathered on the Centurion Project; it's regeneration abilities are amazing, the nanotechnology is beyond anything I'd seen before... not hard to figure out though, but in the quantities needed, it'd have to be full battle armor like the Centurion Project; Kim commented that it was a bit bulky for her, so I definitely want to see if I can't size it down. Going to take some serious tests... but I need more technology samples, more ground to work with. Hopefully Kim can find some parts in her missions to help out, but if I'm designing something from scratch, I need a lot of work... gotta do designing, concepting, find out what I can realistically do... heck, I need to find the materials as well... lot of work to do. Probably going to be a huge project._

**[Redacted Logs on Non-notable progress over the next year or so; some examples:]**

_- 10/10/03: I think that for a material I need to use something spandex-like, that way it can be skin-tight for Kim and also give her full flexibility. Should keep it from being too bulky for Kim to use, and it should make it easier for me to work with it. Ron might like it to, hehehe._

_-12/4/03: Ugh, trying to get a spandex based composite is really proving to be tough; I need something that can take a beating, yet most armor-based materials available would be too rigid for Kim to wear and maintain her agility. It'd be too tough for her to change her style to a more bullet-taking set. Besides, it'd be too risky anyways._

_- 4/9/04: Been doing some work on a plasma shield for it; basic preliminaries, but it'd definitely be useful to Kim against large spams of projectile energy rounds. Not sure how I'm going to power it though; the amount of power required to maintain a plasma shield is considerable, especially making it solid to actually stop a projectile._

**[Resuming Log Records]**

_- 10/17/04: Kim being boosted up with Hego's super strength had a nice trade off; I was able to not only get a tech scan of them, but I was even able to connect it to Shego's plasma. That'll be useful; I'm already figuring out how to incorporate a smaller boost to the suit so it can enhance Kim's punching ability. Maybe even enough for her to rip apart a tank hatch. Maybe. More likely it has to be less, though, anything too powerful and Kim might suffer withdrawal, based on what happened when Aviarius sapped Team Go._

_- 10/23/04: No luck on getting a spandex-like composite for the suit that's suitable for my needs. Just need to keep going..._

_- 10/30/04: Ron really knows how to get himself into trouble; can't believe he got hooked directly into Everlot, the lucky noob! Anyways, I did some tech scans on the device; besides having some help with neural connection for simulators, I should be able to reverse some of the basic theory of the tech so Kim doesn't have to use a wrist mounted set of buttons to activate the suit. If it's mentally controlled, Kim would be able to use a variety of functions without a chance of them accidently firing off. That'd be a really good advantage. Need to start tests on that._

_- 4/10/05: Kim got the Valkyrie shoes off; good thing too, I was worried she'd age too quickly from them, but she seems fine. Tech scan of them being overused definitely helps my research, I can get some augmentations into the battle suit to subtly enhance the speed Kim's body works at, which should improve overall performance. May be able to try some speed boosts as well; short term with an automatic shut-off to avoid it from being used too much; after what happened with the shoes, I need to watch what uber-tech I give Kim. Good thing she also got me a few parts of the Bebe's after it all cleaned up; being able to analyze the robotics behind them helped with designing the nanites. Flawed code in the Bebe bots, but that flaw helped me avert one of my own. Definite good thing, as the flaw could of turned the suit into taking Kim over... not a pleasant thought._

_- 4/17/05: Additional analysis into the Centurion Project's regeneration nanites should help me design the suit so it can self-seal; which would be for the best, I don't think I can make additional copies quick enough if they get torn up a lot by Shego or Dementor's goons._

_- 5/1/05: Still nothing on a material to use for the suit; I have some of the electronics done, but I don't have the spandex-like composite. I'm getting close, though... I just need to get the mixture right..._

_- 5/3/05: Drakken's use of a truth ray may of nearly killed Kim's social rep, but it did open up a better look at Kim's brainwaves. I should be able to better customize the suit to fit into her mentality. Also gives me a better place to work with the nanites and receiving Kim's thoughts so they work right._

_- 5/14/05: Felix's chair has some interesting cyber-robotics in them; his mother is definitely a genius, and Felix isn't half bad either. I managed to convince him to do a little digging on his mother's cyber-robotics, especially the self-intelligence. I can get the nanites do to their job, but it takes a control signal, and I don't think Kim can reliably give that kind of signal even if I use the amplifiers in the suit, so they need to be much smarter. Hopefully it'll yield something, but Felix isn't holding his breath. Neither am I._

_- 6/20/05: Kim had some fun up in the Lazy C, but since she brought home some of those "Silly Hats" Doctor Drakken made, I was able to look at the tech. Surprisingly cutting edge nanotechnology with neural inhibitors; reverse engineering should allow me to upgrade the nanites again and make them really work with a much more solid attunement to neural inhabitations and prohibitions._

[**Several Redacted Notes from the Summer; in Summery: Nothing new]**

_- 9/4/05: Felix's notes finally paid off today; I managed to get the nanites working with the minimal brain wave pattern for Kim to work with 100.00% percent efficiency, with five significant figures, so it's rounded up to a hundred, but it's close enough. Long as nothing busts it like an electromagnetic scrambler or EMP, it should work perfect._

_- 9/8/05: Ugh, I've been so _stupid_! Why did I forget about Shego's energy blasts when designing the suit? Shego nearly blew Kim's head off with a charged plasma bolt to the face; hell, Kim looked like she crawled out of her own grave after the headshot. It was charged, so that means Shego doesn't normally sling it, but man, that was way too close for comfort. Good news is that I have a few samples of her powers from scanning Kim after those kind of fights as well as some data I "borrowed" from Team Go's computers. Hego never updated his password in ten years... man that's just so sad..._

_- 9/20/05: Well, I haven't gotten a good answer to Shego's powers yet, but I finally got that composite working; now I have a material from which to build from. It's extremely receptive of the nanites, and since it's basically uberized spandex, it'll fit Kim like a hot glove... augh, I thought I was immune to Rule 34..._

_- 10/5/05: Alright, I managed to put together an experimental redirection gauntlet. Would give it to Kim for use, but it's basically modified from an unused ball thingy from MMS' gym class, so it's a little impractical. Still, it should work, I was able to use a smaller energy orb as an experiment, and it not only held it, but contained it and was able to launch it back out at a practice target. Looking good, now I just need to find a way to disassemble it to a nanite size and make it so that the nanites used in the suit can assemble it when Kim needs it._

_- 11/2/05: I have a basic design of the suit set, and perfect to Kim's size and easily adjustable to the body of the user. Reused the same stuff I used in making the stealth suit body snug, since it was good stuff just with a different material. I'm adding the nanite bars next week; they'll glow, but hey, that I can't help._

_- 12/26/05: Kim sent me one heckuva Christmas present this year; she got her hands on the plasma shield from Drakken's alpine lair. Good thing Ron managed to retain some memories of that Zorpox incident two weeks back and mentioned the shield. I've analyzed it against my own research, and should be able to now belt-mount it into the suit. Won't reflect Shego's plasma, but if it did, the power requirements would be astronomical; heck, Drakken's plasma shield only had enough charge for several seconds before it was completely out._

_- 1/12/06: Prototype of the suit is done; sent it to Kim's house, locked up in her closet. I need to do some more work, but the container I sent is modified to allow me to continue finishing it, and I contacted Jim and Tim to help move any supplies over if needed. Have a full plethora of data on the tests I've run; it should do brilliantly._

**-=Document Paused=-**


	4. Chapter 4: Spies and Sappers

_"Global Justice was doing what it could, but Dementor was stepping up his conquer the world plan; it's like he was waiting for this opportunity; at least it felt like it. I almost think his other plans were fakes, ones that would sum up as 'nice if they worked', like he was testing what responses he'd get from world powers... and he got me. Oh, he was definitely serious when going for my battle suit, but this scheme of his seemed to be much deeper than his others. He was going to even more brazen acts now, hitting GJ hard while it's rebuilding, stealing some high-tech from PBD. I didn't expect to do it again, but working with Will Du again had some awkwardness to it; we never got along very well, but we kept it professional. I guess."_

- Kim's remarks on Dementor's plans, recorded in her _Liber Memoriarum_

_"We got hostiles incoming! Lock and load! Command, this is Charlie 4, we're under fire... _holy shit_, they're supers! They just blew up our tank! Fireballs flying everywhere; Charlie-"_

- Recovered transmission from a joint mechanized division of United States Army Infantry and Canadian Army Infantry, on a joint shakedown patrol, before the entire group was wiped out by a pair of renegade supers and henchmen accomplices in Iraq. No survivors were found, but once the Canadians found the supers' hideout, they responded harshly, finding the supers and eliminating them; fatally. (The US aide for the retaliatory strike arrived late).

**Chapter 4: Spies and Sappers**

**4 PM Local Time**

**July 12th, 2007**

**PBD Research Base **_**Arc-4**_

**Campanile, France**

The stone wall of the underground military complex suddenly rumbled. French PBD soldiers grabbed their GJ-standard energy rifles and moved into position, and right when the shift was changing too.

_"Defend the Research Lab!"_ shouted the base commander over the intercom (in French). Soldiers set up positions; waiting for the break to occur...

Suddenly, the wall fell apart entirely, and dozens of grey-clad, human-like robots sprinted out, two cutting blades at the end of each fist. The first group was shot _dead_ as the PBD soldiers opened fire, melting to the floor, but the successive waves got closer and began to overwhelm the PBD soldiers in melee, the competent soldiers fighting with their electro-gauntlets effectively. But it would be for naught; the large numbers of drones were overwhelming, and while the French soldiers gave it their all, they were simply outmatched.

Dementor chuckled as he walked in after the second to last force, flanked by a half dozen of his henchmen, clad in _Balmung_ battle armor. The seven villains had been outfitted with energy shields of his own design. "_Come, my loyal henchmen_!" Dementor ordered in his native tongue, "_We must move quickly! The loyal drones can occupy the French_."

He moved forward towards a secondary gate; the facility's main lab was working on something Dementor didn't know much about, other than Drakken and Duff Killigan got into a mess about it on Halloween one year. But what he wanted was in another lab. _This 'Sapper' shall be mine!_ he thought with desire as his men entered a hallway.

A pair of PBD soldiers ahead, guarding the door to the lab, shouted, opening fire with their rifles; the bullets harmlessly impacted the armor of Dementor's henchmen as they'd hadn't turned on their energy shields yet. They rushed up and dispatched of the PBD troopers swiftly, before Dementor put a charge on the door. Backing off, the door was disintegrated in a flash of light, and Dementor rushed in with his henchmen flanking, energy shields active.

"_Jugez-le droit là_!" shouted one of the guards, a sergeant, in French as they entered, while a dozen or so soldiers were aiming guns at them. Two were on the balcony while the others were on the ground floor.

"_Meet the bondo-ball_!" Dementor responded in German, hurling it towards a pair of guards on a nearby balcony, who were spraying rounds down which were absorbed by the energy shields Dementor had outfitted his personal guards. The ball caused the two soldiers to drop their guns as they were forcibly brought into each other. The other henchmen had managed to subdue the rest of the guards. Dementor ran up to the experimental device, protected by an energy field. Taking out a device, he plugged it in and hacked the security system, disabling it. He laughed evilly as he slipped the back-pack like device over his back.

"Mind if I join the party, Dementor?" said a woman behind him in fluent French; _Damn it, how did Possible get here so quickly!_ Dementor wondered as he turned... only to see a blond Frenchwoman standing there, frost forming at her fingertips, clad in a suit of grey Global Justice light armor worn by most agents in the field.

"Oh for Peter's sake, a farm girl turned warrior?" he responded in French (which was a second language to him, English being third), sighing, putting a hand on his forehead, as if guessing the lameness to come, "Let me guess, you're Jeanne d' Archetype?"

She just answered by hurling a ray of frost at him, which his energy shield took... and failed. _Damn! Stupid batteries! Short life EXPECTANCY!_

His henchmen rushed in, taking seconds to get to her; she fired a multi-way storm of ice shards, downing their shields, then she created a patch of ice at her feet, which grew onto the henchmen as they touched it; and it crystallized around the henchmen's legs, violently speeding up their legs like an infection straight out of sci-fi.

"What the?" shouted one of them, bashing at the ice, trying to break it as it slowly crawled up his _Balmung_ armor, much slower than it had his legs, but still grew... but he couldn't break it.

"Henchmen aren't that impressive;" she said tauntingly as she charged up a concentrated blast of ice...

Dementor smiled, having taken the sapper's gun off and he aimed at her, pulling the trigger, "Afraid not, Fräulein!"

A white burst of energy with a faint red shell sped out, and the heroine screamed, the ice instantly melting as she fell to the floor, gasping, as if the very life had been stolen from her. She was on her knees, weakened, dazed, disoriented, and nigh unconscious.

"What... how?" she gasped out, as if she was practically bleeding her very soul out in blood.

"The 'Sapper'," Dementor said, grinning, "Denying all super-powers and leaving them as nothing more than PUNY MORTALS!" He grinned evilly, "It also tends to knock them down to your current state, since they're so reliant on their powers, their natural abilities become flawed from redundancy... _perceived_ redundancy."

She pushed herself up, grunting in pain that seemed to be quickly leaving, but Dementor didn't fire again, even though it was almost charged for a second shot. She swung at one of the henchmen, only for her fist to connect with their armor and her to shout in pain, grabbing her arm as she realized what she punched. The henchman didn't even react. Another simply grabbed her by the arm and flung her away into a wall. She got up, rushing again, leaping for a kick to a henchman's face, but he simply grabbed her, spun, and threw her into the opposite wall. She came again, only to just be decked in to mouth, knocking blood and a tooth out, leaving her face bloodied.

"Heroic resolve, no?" Dementor said as he watched the henchmen, who normally would be thrown around by a hero, effortlessly fought her, "Vell, get used to this. Before ve go, however..."

The French heroine glanced at her hand as small frost began to form again... but Dementor fired the sapper at her again, causing her to collapse.

"Auf wiedersehen, Fräulein, I wish you a good recovery," Dementor mockingly said, mimicking a tip of the hat before he left, grinning as his henchmen followed him, leaving the would-be heroine sunk in defeat as she was left on the floor tending to the blood bleeding out of her mouth. They took a moment to reinitialize their plasma shields, just in case.

As they ran out of the lab, a dozen PBD soldiers with heavy riot shields blocked their way, two of the soldiers manning a heavy machine gun that was moved into position.

"Hold it there, pal!" shouted a sergeant (based on the chevrons on his shield), "You're not going anywhere!" He was speaking German, likely because of the positive identification.

"Oh really?" Dementor asked, grinning, "I believe your sentries are about to be..."

Suddenly the sergeant collapsed, a blade of grey energy sticking through the back of his chest, the machine gun suddenly exploding, fragments flying everywhere with the two PBD soldiers to the floor in pain as metal barreling flew into their Kevlar armor, wounding them and keeping them out of the fight to come. The Sergeant collapsed, with no hole as he'd been stabbed with effectively light, not plasma. The other riot soldiers turned...

"I was never on your side!" said one of the PBD soldiers, the one who was next to the Sergeant and backstabbed him, "Eh?"

"_Oh mon Dieu il est un espion!_" shouted one of the PBD soldiers in French, before the battle joined as the 'spy' suddenly dematerialized his disguise with small flashes of grey light, revealing him to be a Canadian man clad in the standard grey for Dementor's henchmen, except no helmet or rocket pack.

The henchmen were already rushing the PBD soldiers, smashing into their riot shields as Dementor's 'spy' began stabbing the soldiers with his grey energy powers, non-lethally as the 'light blades' as Dementor nicknamed them couldn't kill, only slow. The soldiers were down, and Dementor smiled, as he looked at the super,

"Vell done, Lucy." Dementor said in English, the super's native language.

He glowered at him, "I told you not to call me that, _Professor_."

Dementor shrugged, "I'll get ze name eventually... vhat was it again?"

"Randy. Randy Lucas Carter."

"Right, right. Come, let's go, before more of zhose heroes show up. Any drones leftover?"

"None; PBD slammed 'em good, but you didn't expect them to make it, did you?"

"No, zhey fulfilled their purpose."

XXX

**Two Hours Later**

**7 AM Local Time**

**Middleton, Colorado**

"Wade?" Kim asked as she looked up as she blinked; _Least he knocks._

"Bad news Kim;" Wade said, stepping up the stairs slowly, "We got a hit on the site."

"Dementor?" Kim asked as she sat up in bed. Wade was in his pajamas too.

"Yeah; he just hit a lab in France and stole an experimental device. I don't know much about it; but it was the same lab that did the Centurion Project; till it got back ended."

Kim was instantly and fully awake at the words _centurion project_, "Did Dementor steal it?"

"No; that was what GJ thought, but it wasn't what he was after. He was after some 'sapper' device."

Kim nodded, "Alright, we getting a ride to France?"

"No;" Wade said, "GJ just located one of Dementor's lairs in Oklahoma, near the state border. They want you in there with a GJ strike team to clean it out and find Dementor's main lair; they're going on the offensive this time."

"Alright," Kim said as she slid out of the semi-new bed and walked to her closet, she knew that if GJ went right for a evil lair even if it wasn't likely to be occupied, things were serious; "You staying?"

"Yeah;" Wade said as he started down the stairs, "I'll load your backpack. Got a new gadget you might like."

"Thanks, Wade." she said as she opened her closet, quickly grabbing her washed mission gear. She frowned, looking at the battle suit. _Might be useful..._ she thought, then shook her head; _No; if this thing is called a 'Sapper', I don't think it means digging for maple syrup. This is PBD, and they've been doing a lot of anti-powers research in France to even the playing field... this is a mission for a normal. Besides, Dementor knows how to control the battle suit, so he might be expecting that._

She smirked at the thought; 'normal', and grinned. _My abilities can't be taken away without physical harm; these supers? They can lose them. Guess they'll never obsolete us naked apes._ She quickly changed, then walked down the stairs, opening the medical cabinet and grabbing a small bottle labeled "_Anti-BSR"_ and opened it, taking out a medical cup and pouring about two tablespoons of the thick pink liquid, bracing herself, and took it.

Forcing it down her throat, the serum seemed to agitate every molecule of her body as it worked its way into her body; the after taste was like rusty metal that a horse had pissed on and was left in the dirt for an hour; she nearly threw up from the revolting taste, but kept it down, grabbing one of the bars from the cupboard and chewing it down; _Least it isn't one of those dumb 'wait 30 minutes before eating again' meds._ she thought gratefully as she considered breakfast on the go; _Guess I'll just stop by Beuno Nacho for a hot chocolate or something; no time to make anything._

She did, however, grab a small bag of trail mix, just in case, and walked out into the hallway; Wade, still in his pajamas, had a backpack in his hand with his other hand held behind him; "Alright, the usual grappling hook and EMS, but I also threw in your compact, no telling if you need to deflect lasers. Laser lipstick as well, since Dementor's using drones now."

Kim nodded as she took it; "Anything else?"

"Yeah; some of the super-sticky gum; worked pretty good last time you went at Dementor. Couldn't pack as much as last time though, so use it carefully."

Kim nodded, "Got it Wade. So what's the surprise?"

Wade smiled, pulling out his hidden hand, revealing a new gadget:

"What is it?" Kim asked as she took it, examining it. It looked to her like some sort of electric welder; colored purple, it had a grip and a two-pronged fork-like end which was grey and then black at the tips. There was a button where the fork split, and a safety trigger to ensure it didn't discharge accidently.

"_Shock Stick_;" Wade explained, "Perfect for stunning someone or zapping a drone. Restricted to a non-lethal setting, not to worry. You can also use it to overload electronics; say, a gate mechanism."

"Spankin', Wade." Kim said as she put it on her belt; "How many shots?"

"Takes a minute or so to recharge," Wade explained, "But it's worth it. Not sure if it has limited uses, but I packed extra batteries, just in case."

Kim nodded, and left, taking a glance at her arm; the scar was still fresh from the gunshot that had grazed her arm during the Hel's Demons attack, but it wasn't going to stay, according to her mother. She was glad for that; she was somewhat surprised she didn't have any permanent scars from how often she'd been thrown around.

XX

**Yamanouchi Ninja School**

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

About ten hours back from Middleton, Ron felt like he was supposed to be _waking up_ by now. _At least I think it's ten hours..._ he thought, sighing. He glanced behind him; "Sensei?"

"Stoppable-san," Sensei said sagely.

"If this is about accidently knocking down the bonsai tree in the courtyard, I can cover..."

"No," Sensei said, "We are going to have a visitor shortly from Austria; he comes to speak to me, but I cannot leave the school to escort him here. I would like you to do so."

"Really?" Ron asked, "Alright. When do I meet him?"

"Soon, he will be here in a few hours. I would advise you make preparations and leave within the hour so you can meet him early; there is an ill wind."

Ron nodded; he wasn't _too_ tired, the training was mostly philosophical, but important, because it was to be a foundation from which his physical training could begin. "Alright; I'll get him here. Anyone else able to help?"

"We have one of our own escorting him currently; he left his escort in the city, as is customary."

Ron frowned; he didn't like the sound of that, but he quickly tried to hide the frown and nodded, "I'll make sure he gets here safely."

"Thank you," Sensei said, before continuing onto his duties. Rufus looked up at Ron, and shrugged.

XX

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim drove up to the window; Ned was there, holding the hot chocolate and breakfast burrito, which she took, putting the hot chocolate in the cup holder and the bag with the burrito on the passenger seat for the moment. She paid at the previous window, so she didn't need to give Ned the cash.

"So, Possible," Ned, the only one inside the restaurant at this hour, asked, "Where's Ron?"

"Personal matters." Kim said, intending to keep the secret of the Yamanouchi school's true nature. She figured it out on her own, technically, but Sensei made it clear that she had to maintain the secret or ancient laws or some such nonsense would have to be invoked.

"Lemme guess, the magic stuff?"

Kim frowned, "How'd you-"

"Ron told me during the party that night, after the walkers," Ned explained, "Just mentioned he may have to go get training for it. I didn't press for details and didn't get any."

"Right..." Kim said cautiously, surprised Ron would tell Ned, of all people about his magic stuff. _Even if all he told him was the powers, that's a little too much to tell someone like Ned, isn't it?_

"Besides, might be useful next time we LARP. He always wanted to play a spellslinger with VFX..."

Kim just rolled her eyes; "See ya, Ned. If Ron calls, I'll let him know you said hi."

"Alright, good luck out there."

"Thanks." With that, she drove off. Middleton hadn't been too affected by the Hel's Demons attack; there was a sense of triumph, as Middleton had survived an attack from a feared gang that had looted towns, and held with nothing more than local home-brewed cops and a cheerleader. Still, Kim couldn't help but shake a feeling of foreboding as she left Middleton. Outside of the town itself, the signs of the alien invasion were still present, and that of criminal elements at work, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the invasion. As she drove through the upper side of Lowerton, she spotted Hobble and another SWAT officer trading shots with a criminal, likely a leftover from a gang. The criminal was using an Uzi, but Hobble and the other riot officer were behind solid cover. Kim was about to park and help, but Hobble pulled out a riot shield (from where she didn't want to know), advanced up to the gangster with the bullets simply clattering helplessly against the shield, and knocked him to the ground, the other SWAT officer moving up and cuffing him. Kim hadn't even pulled to the side of the road when it had finished.

Hobble glanced up, nodding to her as she drove by, and she left town, the radio talking about some radioactive spill in southern Boston by a company called "RadTech", but she didn't pay much attention to it; news about accidents were becoming too common, and more often than not, crime was involved. _Good day to be a criminal, bad time to be a hero,_ she decided, knowing that with all the crooks going around, the police had their hands full, leaving more work for heroes to try and tackle. She smirked, taking a sip from her hot chocolate, and mused, _But the fact we stick with it is why we're heroes in the first place._

XX

**Near Mount Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron, having walked down the mountain without incident in the silent night, waited at the base of the mountain, and was tapping his foot while he held his flashlight. The road had a lot of potholes leftover from the walkers' blaze of terror, but it wasn't as bad as it could of been. _Should be glad we have roads at all,_ he mused briefly, closing his eyes at the crazy fight at Graduation came back to him, when he had _raw power_ surging through him... the fact Kim was nearly mounted on a _wall_ left him worried if they came back; _I really hope they weren't backed by their planet's government, but with all those walkers? Have to be... well, when they come again, we'll be ready. I hope._

He looked up as a man appeared out of the bushes, a single ninja from the Yamanouchi school with him. Ron shined the flashlight over them, briefly blinding them

"Ah, hello," said the man in fluent, accented English; he was definitely European, Austrian, and was clad in practical clothes that had some implication of fancy in the form of patterns traced onto the side. His black hair was accompanied with a well-cared for goatee. At his side was a small dagger, secured in a hip-pouch. "I'm Fredrick von Vage, I take it you're here as escort?"

"That's right," Ron said, nodding politely, "I'm Ron, Ron Stoppable."

"Ah, Kim Possible's sidekick. I didn't expect zhis," Fredrick said, smiling with a light chuckle as he shook Ron's hand, his accent not as strong as Dementor's, but there in a lesser degree, "But I'm glad for it none ze less; you have considerable power. I do hope you're studies are going well."

"How did-"

"Diviners tend to notice when someone unleashes a full fury of magical power, especially while the world is being attacked by an extraterrestrial species and ze person unleashing it is in the epicenter of that conflict."

"Uh... right." Ron said awkwardly as he tried to make sense of it. "Sure. Wait, fury?"

"A fury; the term given to a storm of magical power unleashed by a single magic user, granting him enough power to make him literally _uber_, and with no methods of balancing it out until it wears off. Every magic user experiences it at once point, as a taste of what they can do. It is, in a sense, their coming of age, a sign of their magical maturity. It is the only time that they get to use it and not suffer."

"Wait, so when I stepped up and kicked those aliens into the next millennium, that was me _going through magical puberty?_" he exclaimed in shock.

Fredrick chuckled, "In a sense, yes, zhat is what happened. Though you could say it was your 'magical puberty' was coming to an end and you now have the power and _responsibility_ of a full fledged magic user, and can consciously control it."

"Alright, fine; so what happens if I go into a fury again?"

"It's unlikely you will, actually. Most magic users simply get a chance to feel the power and occasionally use it on a series of practice targets to fully understand how powerful they could theoretically become. Not that any succeed in becoming _that_ powerful, but many come close save the needs for preparation. If you _do_ enter another one, however, it will be because of great emotional torque that has completely demolished your natural barriers, your body's failsafe against magic to keep it from corrupting you. If you enter a fury again, you will find yourself weak, barely able to walk... you could even _die_ from it, if you overextend yourself while in such, but that has only happened once in history, and the definition of 'overextend', over three thousand years ago, saw several thousand soldiers demolished."

Ron's jaw dropped in shock, if _that_ was how powerful _any_ magic user could become, he was amazed the world wasn't under the boot heel of a magically imbued tyrant by now. Then his brain properly connected the facts, and he nodded, "Then it's probably for the best that people only enter it once, most of the time."

"Indeed; being able to consciously enter a fury is rare, and the few who can typically never do. It's magic that is too powerful for any one man to have casually. That is the realm of things that must be destroyed, or if such is impossible, sealed away, like..." Fredrick suddenly paused, as if recalling something, cutting himself off. Ron wondered who he was going to describe when Rufus popped out of his pocket, eying Fredrick, who smiled at the source of distraction, "Ah, your familiar."

"My what- wait, that's actually real?" Ron asked, blinking as he lost his train of thought as he wondered how something in _role playing games_ was actually real, especially from _fantasy_ ones. _Then again,_ he reminded himself, _almost everything Kim and I handle would be considered unrealistic..._

"I would assume so, if your magic has some sort of bond with him." Fredrick said, shrugging, "But if not, the stories I've heard would indicate the two of you are close. Well, shall we?" he added, gesturing up the mountain.

Ron nodded, and they began walking up.

"Oh, hang on; your eyes are enchanted for night vision, correct?" Fredrick asked.

"Uh, no, why?" Ron asked, glancing at his flashlight.

Fredrick just nodded, "Let me; no need to waste your flashlight's batteries." He closed his eyes and then incanted something, what Ron didn't know, but he could feel the power behind it. He flipped the flashlight off and closed his eyes as he felt a hot sensation from them. A second later, he opened them, amazed at the fact he was looking, everything with a somewhat purple shade, as if he was benefiting from night vision goggles, just with a purple to it instead of green.

"Wow, thanks," Ron said, blinking in amazement, "This permanent?"

"No," Fredrick answered with a smile, "But it'll last a few hours or until you want to release it. If it was permanent, I'd need much more preparation and ritual, it wouldn't be a spur of the moment change."

"Ah. Gotcha." Ron said, thinking that it was probably for the best; the purple tinge on his vision wasn't something he'd want for the rest of his life. They began ascending up the mountain trail, which was calm despite the very clear signs of a lorwardian walker's passage two months ago. Fredrick inhaled as he saw the damage to the trail.

After a few minutes of walking, Ron finally asked, "Alright, mister von Vage, I have to ask; where're you from?"

"A small monastery in the Austrian Alps, still protecting magical knowledge sealed away long ago; almost three millennium back. It is, as the phrase goes, "too much" for humanity as a whole to know. Most magical enclaves operate under this principle, as you're likely aware, even from each other. Most meetings are on neutral ground, determined when that principle was established."

"OK, so why meet here? I don't think Yamanouchi counts as neutral between these... schools."

"Sensei and I go back a _very_ long way, as far back as the second world war," he explained. "Though I aged differently. I still aged, but it was not as visible."

"Uh... right." Ron said, trying to understand how this man, who looked to be in his late forties, was probably in his late seventies at least.

"I take it your training is just starting; you see, magic tends to invigorate those who have the ability to use it, a side effect being a longer lifespan, typically. We, that is, those who study such over other applications of magic, aren't sure about it. Different people show it differently, though. But no matter what, it's safe to say that you'll live longer than most of your non-magical contemporaries."

_Magic... ugh, loves screwing with us, doesn't it? Really hope I don't outlive KP because of it... well, sure I can find some way to equalize our life spans once we get that far. Gotta be some magic ritual or some such I can use to do that... hopefully unnoticed._ Though the thought of outliving Kim naturally did strike an unpleasant cord, despite his hope that magic wouldn't be so cruel that, in all its power, it didn't ignore love.

They continued walking up the long mountain path, he went over what he had learned, trying to practice the breathing exercises that Sensei had taught him, but the somewhat difficult climb made such _not_ the simplest of tasks.

About five minutes later, Ron heard a bush snap; "You hear that?"

"Yes..." Fredrick said, flexing his fingers, which had a faint glow as if he was preparing to activate magical power, "My powers aren't what they used to be... I'm limited to low magic."

"Why?" Ron asked, flexing as he tried to connect to his powers, "I'd figure an old magic dude would be able to blow an army up in one shot."

"I could, but I'd need an hour of preparation to ready such spells and in the case of some, reagents. After that? I'd have to use the more powerful ones quickly, within a day. And even then, it'd probably kill me if I unleash it all at once and don't pace myself, unless maybe I have a half dozen others _at minimum_ helping me channel it. Now, a small squad on the other hand, I could do as long as I made preparations to use such a spell prior to creating it. I'm limited to low magic, in layman's terms, in that only basic magical offensive and defensive abilities and some more effective ones. I wasn't able to prepare anything on the trip here, or prior. Not exactly a good way to avoid drawing attention on a plane ride, making preparations with magical reagents and whatnot."

"Ah... right." Ron said, _Just like a Dungeon Magus wizard... I wonder if the guys who wrote it in the first place didn't have some knowledge of actual magic..._

Suddenly, a half-dozen ninjas at knee height jumped out of nowhere, wielding bo staves, with a simian tail...

"Where'd these guys come from?" Ron asked as Monkey Fist's old monkey ninjas attacked, "I thought they split after Monty got stoned!" He leapt over the first ninja, and as the second one attacked he punched it in the face, sending it backwards, the monkey hitting a tree, a few branches falling on top of the downed ninja.

He heard Fredrick von Vage say something in the language Ron didn't recognize, but he could just _tell_ that it was spoken with power. Suddenly, four orb-like projectiles sped out and homed in on a target, plastering the ninja going for the Austrian mage, sending the poor simian buffoon into the air and tangled in the bushes as the homing magical projectiles faded from the impact.

"Nice!" Ron said as he grabbed a monkey ninja and threw it to the one from Yamanouchi, who caught it by the tail and spun, sending it into his comrade. Only two ninjas were left; Ron went for the left one while the other Yamanouchi ninja went for the right. Ron struck hard, hitting the monkey ninja in the gut and causing it to flip backwards, losing the bo staff, before spinning forward, hitting Ron's groin with a few repeated hits.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Ron shouted in pain as his groin felt like it was going to explode from the pain alone, shouting and barreling into the ninja, pinning it to the floor with a wild fury; he punched the monkey in the gut several times, then threw it as hard as he could into the trees, sending it through a branch or two before it got stuck and fell to the dirt, defeated and unconscious.

"That was..." Fredrick said, "Interesting."

"Yeah; what gives, I thought those guys ran for it after Yono got humiliated." Ron said as he gritted his teeth in pain, recalling that battle despite the pain... _Eldritch abomination beaten by a badass baby... man, I think the world's waterskiing over the shark..._

"They still live in the mountains," the Yamanouchi ninja explained, "But rarely come for conflict. This bodes ill. Come, we should keep moving."

Ron just shrugged, and they continued up the path, with nothing happening, but they weren't stupid about moving forward, they kept close watch on the trees and bushes.

XX

**9 AM Local Time**

**Dementor Secondary Lair**

**Oklahoma-Colorado state border; USA**

Kim parked the Sloth next to the GJ command center, which was established in an old, abandoned parking lot near the ruin of a long-since abandoned bar and grill. GJ agents, clad in the usual grey combat armor and carrying GJ's experimental laser rifles as well as electro-gauntlets were around, making final preparations. Four red GJ hovercraft armed with standard GJ armaments were also present. She got out, locking the car behind her.

"Miss Possible!" a GJ agent said, gesturing her over, "Agent Will Du is inside."

_Great... just who I wanted to work with._ Kim thought, recalling the last time the two worked together. "Right, thanks." She walked in, and found GJ Agent Will Du talking with a pair of other GJ operatives wearing the blue of GJ's officer ranks.

"Ah, Miss Possible;" Will Du said, nodding politely, "Good."

Kim frowned, crossing her arms; _Warmed up a lot since last time... guess Doc Director gave him sensitivity training._ "Agent Du. What's the sitch?"

He gestured her over, and pointed at the map, which she realized was a model of Dementor's lair in the area. The base was on a semi-island, connected at the front where there was a full gate with defenses, while the back looked like it was still under construction.

Will began to explain, "We hoped to call you in for a different mission, but we have to cancel that with the latest developments on the Dementor front. For now, we're going to be doing a standard smash-and-grab operation, combined with securing the area. There are defensive strong points here, and here..." he pointed respectively to one in the front, at the gate, and one inside where the main entrance to the interior of the lair was, "We will assault those two strong points. GJ Air Calvary will support us, blue lasers and all."

"Wait wait, hold on," Kim said, putting her hands up, "Direct assault?"

"Correct."

"That's _suicide_," Kim said as she looked at the defenses on the map, which included footnotes, "Those turrets will tear you a ten ways from Middleton."

"Which is why you'll be going in through this back entrance," Will Du explained, pointing to a spot on the back of the main structure, "Dementor's defenses aren't finished here, and it's only guarded by a contingent of drones. While we stage a frontal attack, you'll slip in and disable the security systems, allowing us to get inside that much easily."

Wade appeared on a nearby screen, "_I got the readings, Agent,_" he said, and the map had several highlights in two control rooms; only accessible by the interior, _"The security systems have two focused control clusters to make sure the main defenses don't go down, but they're also conduits for the power going to the defenses, and once removed, nothing can stop them from going offline. This means the main defenses can then be disabled once inside, using the back as mentioned._"

"Good," Will Du said, "Miss Possible, when will you enter the base?"

"Ready when you are," she said, "Just give me five minutes once I start moving into the base itself, you need to minimize your time at the strong points."

He nodded, "Very well."

"_Hang on,_" Wade said, "_There's another problem; Dementor set up a set of anti-air missile sites, located in the base. I can shut them down long enough for Kim to slip in by hovercraft, but no longer, and Dementor has secondary system checks that I can't shut down, and once they kick in, I'll be locked out."_

"I can go in on foot;" Kim said, "Best save the hack for when we need it most."

Will Du frowned, shaking his head, "I disagree; you're the key to this operation, your skills at breaking into hostile bases is near unparalleled, we need to use that hack to get you into position. Our stealth-equipped hovercraft can slip in undetected, but the stealth is too short for us to fly around, and those craft won't survive a single hit from those SAMs."

"I'll swim in or something," Kim said, pointing at the lake the base was on, "Probably safer for your flyboys."

Will Du shook his head, "The longer we have to wait, the more likely Dementor will realize we're present. If his men get radar up and running and finds out we're h..."

Kim stared at him challengingly, cutting him off; "Agent Du, I respect your professional training and... 'experience', but trust me, a stealth craft insertion will only be more noticeable, and if Wade's hack can only work once, we need to save it to get clear if it goes south. There's too few GJ agents left for us all to get wiped out here."

Wade was watching on the monitor as the two personalities collided, wincing in horror.

"Miss Possible, I've been reasonable so far, but this is a full combat operation, we don't have time for amateurish stunts."

"Says the man who failed where an 'amateur' succeeded." Kim retorted, thinking of the time the two worked together against Duff Killigan, practically four years ago.

"One of us is going to have to give, and since we're running straight into the gauntlet, you really should back down on this."

"Oh? Well, you have back up at least; I'll be heading into a base full of drones, henchmen, and laser turret defenses... _alone_."

"Miss Possible, this plan has been laid down and set since we began reconnaissance of the base, you have your job, I have mine."

"Oh, I'm not arguing about that, I'm arguing about how we play our cards when doing it."

"We have to pull our cards fast and hard, if we start the attack, Dementor may initiate a program to nullify Wade's ability to hack."

"Wade's a brilliant hacker, if he can keep a mole in there, I don't think Dementor can lock him out if he tried."

The two prideful personalities clashing made the two GJ officers put hands on their foreheads as Wade sighed aloud.

Finally, Wade intervened and said, "_Alright; look. I'll watch the defenses as Kim's dropped off by a stealth craft, if they activate I'll hack, but if I don't have to hack, I won't and play the card later._"

Kim and Will paused, looking at Wade on his screen...

"That works." Will Du said slowly.

"Yeah..." Kim answered just as slow, "So... which hovercraft am I in?"

"Speak with Corporal Thomson;" Will said, "he's the one gave you a ride to one Doctor Drakken's stealth lair after he eluded our scanners once. He'll drop you off in the base; we begin to move out in five minutes, the base is a three minute flight away once it's at full throttle."

Kim nodded, recalling the mission in question, and left for the makeshift landing zone, all her gear hooked to her belt or in the appropriate pouch.

XX

**Yamanouchi Ninja School**

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Having crossed the bridge into the school, Ron rolled his shoulders, relieved to be back into safety. They had a second run-in with the monkey ninjas, but managed to repel it without anyone getting hurt.

"Thank you for the escort," von Vage said, pulling two rune-like objects and handing one to Ron, and one to the other ninja, "Token of my gratitude."

Ron frowned as he examined it; it had a small, stylized cross that looked more like a plus sign (like Red Cross) rather than a Christian cross, but he could tell there was magic in it; "What is this?" he asked.

"A signet; in this case, one for healing. Useful if you get stabbed in the gut. Ask Sensei about recharging it once you use it." von Vage explained, "As for now, I have to go speak with him. Thank you again, Mister Stoppable, for the escort."

"No problem," Ron said, pocketing the small signet. He walked towards his room, and went to sleep, at long last.

X

Sensei looked up as Fredrick von Vage walked into the room, and bowed politely, Fredrick returning it it, "It's good to see you again, old friend." Fredrick began; he was speaking Japanese fairly fluently.

"It is a pleasure to see you still live," Sensei responded, _Indeed, it has been a long time._ "Please, sit. We will speak in your native tongue, I do not like the risk of eavesdroppers, and to my knowledge, none of my students can speak German."

Fredrick sat on one of the two mats, nodding as Sensei pushed a cup of tea towards him, picking it up and taking a sip.

"So; what brings you here personally?" Sensei asked in German, "Is the Conclave worried about something?"

"Conclave's alright, but they are growing anxious about the presence of 'supers'." Fredrick answered in German, "The problem is that a number of them actually magic users passing off their skill as a super power not of magical origin, at least two former students of mine with elemental specialization. Conclave's worried it'll result in the last three millennia's hard work at maintaining secrecy instantly fade. The few outsiders I trust with my monastery's location are pointing out an increase in APBD patrols, though."

"Austrian Power Busters Division?" Sensei asked, frowning, remembering the fact that Ron had been with the American division of PBD for a time, "Why would they look for you?"

"Well, we're kind of 'supers' by their definition," Fredrick explained, shrugging as he took another sip; "Not a problem, they don't have anything that can disrupt our concealment wards. Yet."

Sensei sipped his tea, then said, "If you ever are in need of help, I can come over. I have had PBD infiltrated before;"

"Yes, I recall," Fredrick said with a faint smile, "That little girl from China that was incarnated with raw magic and attuned to the use of _Tai Sheng Pek Kwar_, right? Had to get her through USPBD's scanners to avoid them realizing you were basically bringing an infant super to the United States under their noses?"

"Correct," Sensei answered, remembering the minor disruption they had to do to a few choice PBD scanners so they could get little Han into the US once they established with Ron's parents that they'd adopt her and straightened out legalities, "I suspect it would be easy to have infiltration go on and disrupt any patrols in your area, if you need such."

Fredrick shook his head, "Thank you, but not yet, it isn't threatening us. It'll be when they send patrols to comb every inch of the Alps that I'll be worried. That's not what I wanted to talk to you about, however."

"What is it, then?" Sensei asked, frowning.

"You see, our diviners have been finding signs of an old enemy returning."

Sensei shook his head, "Surely, Fredrick, you don't take one divination as a warning to prepare for a war of such magnitude, do you? Not even a novice would make such a mistake. I had a few visions of the aliens, but I took them with only a grain of salt until one of my former students informed me of a confirmed sighting of their spaceship." At which point, he'd warned Ron about destiny coming soon, to little luck, but things worked out in the end, as there really was nothing that Ron would of been able to do beyond what he did.

"I wish it _was_ only one." Fredrick said, sighing as he put a hand on the table, closing his eyes, "It's been fairly consistent, and the signs multiplied after the aliens attacked. I sent some of my former students to investigate, and they found more signs correlating to a return. With Yono defeated, it also likely means wards are failing."

Sensei frowned, "Yono had, to my knowledge, nothing to do with him, despite wards being created to contain him by some of the Conclave's founding members. If Yono was connected more than just by whom entombed him, then fate is playing us for fools and we have been going the wrong way."

"Well, we do have some hope. The diviners seem to think that Possible is gonna be in the middle of the coming storm."

"I am not surprised, it is not like her to sit by idly while others fight, even if they are better suited. She is a true representation of what humanity can do without magic; Ionteganus was correct in that regard."

"The Greeks tended to be, even before they became known as the Greeks," Fredrick said, rubbing his goatee with a stroke of amusement, "Not that a lot of us would agree in his theories being plausible." He turned serious, however, "Unfortunately, I may have to do in his theory with Possible... the diviners in my ranks have consulted a few others from other enclaves; they have reasonable suspicion to think there's more a play in Kim Possible and her amazing talents."

Sensei inhaled, knowing the theory of her being more than human all-to-well. _It is likely that pride cannot comprehend when it is matched by something far humbler than magic's most powerful._

"I am aware of the theories, but she has no traces of magical power nor does she have anything that would elevate her above what a supposedly normal person can do with dedication and application." Sensei answered, "Is this not why most schools of magic have non-magical warriors in their employ? Not unlike your own monastery?"

Fredrick shrugged, "Touché, Sensei, you're correct there, but those stalwart warriors are nowhere near her level of ability. And they're decked out with magical arms and armor."

"Speak plainly, please." he said, "I'm aware."

"Alright; the diviners think she has djinn's blood in her bloodline, not strong, obviously, but it's just enough that the right catalyst would allow her to step up in the coming days and give her some basic, unnoticeable enhancement without it. Physically, that is. I mean, it'd make sense; her whole family, traced back a few generations to the late 1800's, have or had considerable physical talents and consistently took on above average things."

Sensei was already shooting the theory down in his mind at the absurdity, his foundation solid from his experiences with Kim and seeing her in action, sensing her fight with no magical traces, just courage; "Fredrick, you _know_ the legends and the research done into them better than most."

"I know, it should be, by this time, too diluted over years to even be worth checking, and frankly, I'm skeptical too about this whole theory. But I'm starting to think she has it as I learn more and investigate further. Time will tell, I guess."

"Yes... that's why you wanted to speak to me, isn't it, because I know her best?"

"Of those within the Conclave, yes."

Sensei shook his head, "Even if she _has_ such, in traces, it wouldn't mean anything. There's been a little over three thousand years since the last known one. If she has that bloodline, then we have a million other possible candidates _at minimal_. The sands of time have shifted considerably since those ancient days, what was one powerful may not be so anymore."

"Look, they insisted I get some more on that theory, they're really picky about research and the Conclave Council's curious about Possible too. And I don't mean this theory, I mean just her in general. They're interested in the fact that she's done what she has without magic as far as she knows. Heck, most of them are expecting to find our search of Kim having the bloodline to be an affirmative."

"Hmmm." At this point, Sensei was wondering if he had to make a statement to the Conclave Council about not consulting those with knowledge of the area they wished to look into, "If I do not meet them prior, I would ask you to inform them that if I discover they're interfering, we shall have more than the return to be afraid of."

"What do you mean? You aren't really going to-"

"No, I will not." Sensei said, "But if you try _anything_ to her, to force her into a catalyst to answer the theory once and for all, _she_ will break _you_, magic or not."

Fredrick nodded grimly, "Alright. I do think we need to approach her, if you're right, then we can convince her to try it, then if it doesn't work, no harm done."

"Are you certain that having her enter a catalyst is a wise course?" Sensei challengingly asked, frowning, "That much magic into her body at once? It's never been done before, we don't know the risks. Great power comes with an even greater cost, and such is greatly magnified when it comes all at once rather than through hard work and time. If it is anything like the augmentations and transmutations done in the ancient days, it could very well _destroy_ her if she doesn't have the latent potential within."

"Do you have another idea, Sensei, to answer this once and for all?"

"Besides waiting until we have a more believable reason than a couple diviners visions, the visions of those who use an art known to be somewhat unreliable in the first place? No."

Fredrick nodded, "Very well. Sorry I brought it up, but they wanted me to. Now then; there's a few other matters, we've discovered traces of a couple renegade magic users investigating some 'Generalissimo' fellow; and supers are too. I don't know who's behind this, but you may want to be alert, we got a good indication that there's a link to him nearby, and he may know more about the coming threat, more details."

Sensei nodded, "I will investigate this. But I must know; how would the Conclave approach Possible? I have seen some of their 'interventions' before, they never went well when those in the dark discovered it."

"Hopefully, we'd just have an agent approach her and convince her to at least try a few tests. But if things go really horrible, well, I'm afraid that they council may authorize a more draconian approach."

"And make the _same_ mistake their ancestors did with the original? The same violation of rights?" Sensei asked, aghast that they would dare do so considering how it turned out, "Did they learn _nothing_ over the last three thousand years?"

"Yes, but Sensei, you know as well as I did how horrible things were before the Conclave was founded to resist. Those methods were _necessary_ back then, we all know it."

"Indeed, history often repeats, but it is the wise man who learns from these mistakes and works to rectify them for the future. If the Conclave seeks to prevent history from repeating, they cannot make the same mistakes as their forefathers did. If they make the same mistakes, they will find that the present is not at all like the past, and things are not so easily forgiven anymore."

XX

**Deep in the Australian Outback**

**Australia**

Shego hid her hover board, which had been kept in Drakken's storage account at_ Boxes-R-Us_ ever since she joined him; she never used it after she swiped it from one of her Team Go enemies, a (now dead of age) Vandal gang leader who called himself Sarias, when she decided to go evil. It wouldn't help her at this point, the hidden base or whatever was inside the mesa and it was an obvious thing for half-competent sensors to detect. She did, however, have a pair of rollerblade shoes; she 'borrowed' the design that Drakken had made several years ago when he began his plot to clone Kim Possible, wanting to have at least one clone who could mimic her perfectly for plot purposes, yet were easy to wear casually and difficult to remove without getting rid of her shoes entirely. _I get why Possible likes them; least these ones are more stealthy, though._ She turned them on, the four-wheel design popping up under her feet, and she turned it on, an extremely low volume 'woosh' sounding consistently as she began to rollerblade away. She was, for safety purposes, wearing a helmet and pads, her hair sticking out in a ponytail from under the helmet. _Probably look like a older, paler, black-haired version of Kimmie,_ she thought with a note of sad irony as she set out.

Supposedly, this hidden outback base was storing something important connected to the aliens as well as a couple MSPF's, thus why it would be in the middle of nowhere, built into the natural mesa she was speeding towards.

As she closed the distance, she spotted it; a dull, steel-grey door with a guard lounging outside it. She cut the rocket rollerblades, somersaulting in the air to allow the wheels to retract without a loud stop, rolling as she returned to the ground and crouched behind the bushes, her green-black outfit close enough to avoid being distinct as the guard looked over, holding an AK-47 rifle with what looked to be a few modifications. _Great; a weapon with a hundred meters of range at least, and no reliable cover. I suppose I could send him into cover with a barrage of plasma as I rollerblade towards it, but that'll set off alarms..._ She looked around; the mesa was around an area with some greenery, enough for her to take cover... _And if I slip around the mesa, unless they have proximity detectors, I should be able to slip around..._

She decided that would be her best course of action, cautiously sneaking around until she was next to the mesa, and crept toward the guard. It had taken a half hour to circle around, and she was itching for something loud and hard to start. _Once I'm inside,_ she told herself as she crept up on the mercenary, _there'll be fireworks._

She punched him in the back of his neck with her plasma charged, knocking him forward and causing him to drop the AK-47 in surprise, the gun **not** going off thanks to its safety being on. The mercenary turned, swearing, but Shego assaulted him head on, pummeling him into unconsciousness and took his key card, opening the door.

She sprinted inside as a pair of mercenaries, clad in grey padded armor, rushed out, one carrying an AK-47, the other a powered mace. Shego knocked the rifleman out first with her plasma, sending him into the wall and knocking him out while the man with the mace swung at her. She ducked, turning and hitting the mercenary in the back. His armor took it, and he whirled around. Shego grabbed his mace arm by the wrist, and with a single jerk, knocked the mace out of his hands, and put him out of his misery with one well-placed charge of plasma to the head, leaving him unconscious. She continued in, finding a couple other guards quickly thrusting helmets on and grabbing power maces in what looked to be a mess hall crossed with a barracks. She knew why they weren't going for rifles; in these close quarters, without the long hallway, rifles would be more likely to hit one of their comrades. And these mercenaries, who she finally recognized as standard-issue HenchCo henchmen with grey armor not unlike Orland's favored design, were not stupid enough to try it even if it could potentially take her out easily.

The first one swung at her with a power mace, missing as she sidestepped the blow and got a punch to the jaw, his jaw breaking as her plasma-enhanced punch hit. The second and third attacked together, but Shego took advantage by stepping between them before back flipping away from the two, causing them to hit each other's maces and break them. The fourth minion charged with the second and third behind her, but Shego simply knocked out the (only) female henchman and used the next two as punching bags. Two henchmen were left, and one was rushing for a rifle.

Not giving him a chance to get to it, she shot a quick pair of plasma bolts towards the rifle rack, rushing the second to last minion. She ducked under his first blow and tripped him, sending him to kiss the floor. The last henchman was intercepted as she shot him in the back with a charged plasma bolt, knocking him to the floor.

"Anyone wanna get up and try again?" she asked challengingly, and two of the mercenaries, the first, fourth, and fifth pushing themselves up and rushing at her together. But this time, they were unarmed.

The fifth one swung at Shego, who blocked the attack and punched her back, staggering the henchwoman as the fourth came in. The two together forced Shego to use a set of acrobatic maneuvers, mid air leaps, handsprings, and similar, to avoid as the first joined in. She landed on the first henchman's shoulders, and hit him in the head as hard as she could, knocking him out. As he fell, she leapt off of him and kicked the fifth henchwoman in the chest, knocking her back and down. The last henchman, the fourth of the group, attacked again, but she grabbed him by the arm and swung him into the pile she was making. None of the other henchmen got up.

She snickered as she walked towards the inner door, examining it. After a few minutes, she had a reasonable analysis. _Basic lock-vault security... doesn't seem to be too heavily protected; this door is weak enough some charged plasma hits will wreck it. That's unusual._ She blasted the door open with repeated plasma hits, each strike denting the metal and causing it to become malformed and melt away, finally opening. Inside was just what she expected, a half-dozen modules looking like the Mobile Synthodrone Production Facility pictures she'd seen in _Villain's Digest_.

She walked further in, noting a lift in the center that likely lead to the top of the mesa, not unlike some concealed doors that Drakken used for heavy machinery in some of his lairs. As she walked deeper, however, she saw what looked to be a database...

As she stepped near it, the screen activated; scanning her.

**"Identity confirmed. Congratulations."** a computer voice said.

"OK, what's going on?" Shego asked, frowning.

A recording began, the silhouette of a man with what looked like some high-ranking officer's uniform appearing on the central screen.

"_Greetings to the villain or villainess who activated this message; if you do not know already, I am known as "Generalissimo", a pseudonym I adopted for this... project of mine. You see, with the world in chaos after the alien invasion, now is the time for a villainous ruler to take over the world. I have created storage areas not unlike this one with the intent of a worthy person, one worthy of the title 'villain' or 'villainess', to claim them and use them well to bring about their master scheme. Be aware, of course, others seeking to prove themselves worthy are also after these. Keep such in mind when you make your claims."_

There was a beep, and a second recording began;

_"All good villains need their minions. Synthodrones are a fine source; these HenchCo Mobile Synthodrone Production Facilities, colloquially known as MSPF's, are a fine start up. If you aren't aware, they can be used semi-self sufficiently, sending out drones designed to collect salvage and bring it back; synthogoo, of course, being creatable from near anything. I do wish you luck in your villainy, and will leave clues to another storage facility. This one is one of many starting points in a chain, so no clues lead to here. Of course, if one is on your trail..."_

With that, the recording ended and a normal database was accessible. She searched for any more information on the lorwardians...

She hit a so-so jackpot: evidently, that was the next clue. _So, Tri-City area; that's a funny place to hide something for villainy, considering the PBD base and Possible being right there..._ She continued following it, then realized the next part of the clue;

_"While the aliens were thwarted in the Tri-City, the first walker deployed elsewhere._"

She then recalled Drakken's temporary Bahamas Islands lair, and grinned. _Only threat there is a group of renegades, at worst. Should be easy._ she decided, locking the database and transferring it to her flash drive. She looked at the six production facilities, frowning. They were far too large for her to bring with her...

_But the recording mentioned it's a starting, most likely Orland found out about it and wanted to sell it to the highest bidder. This is really interesting stuff, because I wiped and destroyed Orland's database, any of his benefactors don't have the coordinates... better make sure these goons can't report back either. Might as well get these silly MSPF's building in the mesa so there's drones guarding this, just in case Possible, GJ, or some superhero shows up._

XXX

**Dementor Base**

**Colorado-Oklahoma State Border, USA**

"Alright Possible, we're here; good luck down there!"

Kim nodded to Corporal Thomson as the stealth craft began its descent to the back area of Dementor's base where synthodrones were busy with simple manual labor, moving debris away. The hovercraft hovered over a large set of scaffolding, opening it's drop bay, and Kim leapt off the craft as it took off, vanishing from her view as she left the field of the cloaking system, one of Wade's designs that GJ had managed to convince him to hand over. She knew she only had about five minutes to get through the construction site, into Dementor's base, and disable the first line of defense for Will Du and his GJ strike team. _Let's hope they last longer than they do against Gemini,_ Kim thought grimly as she recalled Ron telling her how badly GJ agents fared against Gemini; though to be fair to GJ, WWEE wasn't much better, if anything, they were probably worse.

Sliding down the ladder, she ducked behind a large crate with Dementor's insignia on it as a camera was looking over, waiting for it to pass (or so she hoped), and sprinted, entering a alley between two rows of shipping crates. The hovercraft had likely flown away, towards the lake to take a very long route back to the GJ base. A grey-colored synthodrone was ahead, lifting a crate, it's back turned to her. She rushed forward, grabbing it's neck and pulling as hard as she could, causing a rip to form. She finished it off by pulling it backwards and getting out of the way, letting the crate it carried fall onto it, making it look, hopefully to other drones, as an accident. She continued on, looking out of the small alley, which now pointed her towards the main building. A dozen drones were all carrying rubble towards what seemed to be an intake...

_Probably for synthogoo,_ Kim decided as she looked at it, _If Dementor's using synthodrones to augment his henchmen, he's going to use the junk he can't use for anything else for 'em._ She looked around, and spotted a conveyor belt that would, if she slipped into a crate put into it, take her up into the base... _and probably into some sort of grinder. I don't think Ron would like _that_ makeover..._

Another thing caught her eye; a large vent. _Perfect,_ Kim decided, _Just what I need._ But she realized getting to it would be interesting; between her and the vent was the dozen synthodrones and what seemed to be a pair of laser turrets on platforms looking for hostiles to fry. She noticed all the drones were grey, which told her that Dementor officially put his color scheme onto the drones. She shoved the thought away, focusing on the problem at hand; breaching the defenses. _I can deflect lasers back with my compact,_ she figured as she considered her history with Dementor's laser defenses, _probably set off an alarm if I'm spotted though..._

She didn't have time to hesitate. She sprinted forward, trying to stay behind various crates as she moved towards the vent. She heard a laser go off, and nearly lost her leg as one from a turret impacted where she'd been a split second before. She leapt into the air as the synthodrones noticed her and began to utter warnings in their monotone. She was almost to the vent, but saw a keypad lock on it, and had a climb to do if she wanted to get up there...

She fired her grappling hook at the above conveyor belt, using it to rappel up as laser fire came in. Drawing the shock stick, she fired a full charge at the keypad lock, causing it to burst open and the vent grate to fall open. She swung into it and disconnected the grappling hook, and slid down, the two gadgets in her hands as she navigated the vent down. A fork approached, and she nearly slammed into it, only to avoid having an embarrassing area hit by sliding to the right. She saw another grate ahead and as her feet hit it, it came open.

"What th_e hell_?" shouted one of Dementor's henchmen in the room; it looked like a small area to centralize heating. Kim didn't hesitate, she leapt at him and kicked him in the face, putting the shock stick on her tool belt and holstering her grappling hook before she proceeded to pummel the guard unconscious. _Security is gonna notice this,_ she knew as she left him on the floor, lips split, but she didn't care, the base was about to have a full blown GJ assault. She exited, finding herself in a hallway. Taking a look, she took a right, most likely to lead to the front of the base. As she sped down the halls, a heavily armored henchman saw her. Blocking her path, he charged at her like a bear. She slid under, kicking him from below, the shock of such a vulnerable area being hit causing him to stagger. She flipped backwards onto her feet and leapt forward, kicking his face with both feet, and she sprung up, touching the ceiling with her feet and speeding down like a screwdriver with a drill behind it, her fists connecting with the man's head and sending him to the floor, unconscious. Pushing herself off of him as her hands hurt from the impact, she continued to sprint down the halls, a henchman chasing her as she passed the bathroom; she didn't take him out, she didn't have time.

"_This is Assault-One, we're going in, I repeat, going in. Those defenses better be off!_" she heard from her wrist Kimmunicator, and knew she had to find the console soon. She hoped that Will Du would better here than he did against Killigan.

Alarm klaxons went off as she kicked open a door labeled "Security Suite One", and saw a pair of henchmen manning consoles. She sprinted at the first one, grabbing him by his standard-issue Dementor-style emergency jetpack and hurling him into the one pursuing her, then attacked the second, who punched her in the shoulder and staggered her. Ignoring the pain from her shoulder, she finished him quickly, hitting him with a pair of punches and an uppercut, knocking him out and causing him to collapse like a tree from a cartoon. She saw the defenses, and checked the shock stick; full charge. She zapped the console, and covered her eyes as several explosions occurred as the machinery overloaded. _Probably could of done the same with an EMS shot,_ she decided, but since she had a limited number of EMS shots, she figured the shock stick was better since it didn't seem to have shot limits. Yet.

_Beep beep be-beep._

She answered, "What's the sitch?"

It was Wade;_ "GJ agents are going into the main complex now; no one's hurt yet. Nice timing on the defenses, by the way. GJ wants to use hovercraft support, can you knock out the anti-air sites?"_

"Can you get me the coordinates?" Kim asked, glancing at the door, "I don't know the layout of this lair."

Wade typed into his computer and brought up blueprints, which Wade began breaking down into a readable map she could use; Kim looked at the red blips, the four anti-aircraft sites, and a gold beacon was likely the second security console. Blue dots representing GJ agents were in the main area, and Kim got a glance out a window; GJ agents were stunning henchmen with their lasers before closing into hand-to-hand, using their stun watches to good effect, but the standard version was either weaker, or these henchmen were tougher than most, but the stunning was enough to give the agent an upper hand it if didn't knock the henchmen out right.

XX

Will Du ducked behind cover as a laser turret, independent of the consoles, took shots at him and his men, leaving smoking burn marks every time it hit cover or the ground.

"Four-Five-One, Four-Five-Two, go up the flank!" he ordered, pointing with two fingers, "I'll go for the turret; cover me!"

"_Sir, yes sir_!"

He leapt out of cover and sprinted forward, a heavy henchman charging him from seeming nowhere. He didn't have time to react as the henchman knocked his laser rifle away. Leaping backwards to avoid a second hit, he fired his stun watch, only for it to bounce off. _Stupid, stupid Will..._ he thought at himself as he got out of the way as the heavy took a barrage of (stun) laser fire from two other GJ agents. He leapt up and applied the stun watch again, this time to the henchman's head, causing him to shout and spasm as more electricity than he would want in his body shot through. Disconnecting, he returned his attention to the turret, which had been pinning down several GJ agents.

He leapt at it and grabbed a GJ standard-issue explosive charge from his tool belt, slapping it to the laser turret and rushed away, the charge, with enough power to break open a two-foot thick steel door (the standard WWEE specification), blew the turret apart. Grabbing his lost rifle, he sighed as he found it busted from the hit, and now useless other than a glorified club with a potentially explosive discharge, so he discarded it. Several other agents suffered such, and a wave of synthodrones was coming their way.

"This is Assault-One to Geek-One, we need our air support, what's Cheerleader-One doing in there?"

_"She's inside the base and sending henchmen flying,_" Wade responded, "_She knows about the AA though. She just has to fight here way there."_

"Right..." He quickly weighed his options; they couldn't stay there, they were too exposed in this area and there were a few vantage points perfect for Dementor to pull out long range weapons out of their own range. He had to advance, _now_. "Agents, form up! We're going to take the next waypoint! GO! _GO! __**GO**_!"

XX

Kim grabbed the thrown grenade in mid air and hurled it back to the henchman who threw it, causing him to leapt off the catwalk and landing in a vat of what seemed to be water just below. _OSHA is going to have a panic attack,_ Kim thought with morbid amusement as the grenade exploded in midair, hurting no one. A group of four regular henchmen charged at her, two in front of her, two behind her, as she advanced along the catwalk over what seemed to be a central water storage area, with a series of catwalks over multiple vats of water... or at least, she _hoped_ it was all water for a dry day. She leapt off the catwalk and landed on one to the left of where she'd been heading, a jet-pack equipped henchmen speeding from above and standing in front of her.

"Chargin' up, mind my route!" the henchman reported over his headset radio as he powered his jet pack and sped forward. Kim leapt over the henchman as he sped at her like Superman, his right hand extended. Landing on his jetpack and forcing him to the ground, she dismounted by flipping over his legs. The henchman reacted, turning as he landed on the ground, but Kim got in close, punching him in the stomach and then throwing him into the vat of water below, causing his jetpack to misfire and send him out, the henchman eventually landing on the catwalk Kim had vacated and slumping off. Two henchmen from that catwalk, the ones blocking her passage back, leapt over and charged her. Kim used a back handspring to evade the first one's opening attack, then spin kicked him, sending him off the catwalk and into the vat of water below. She then punched the other one repeatedly, before making him kiss the catwalk, yanking him down by the uniform and slamming his face onto the cold metal flooring, knocking him out cold. She leapt back onto the central catwalk, drop kicking the henchman there as she landed, knocking him into the vat below. The remaining henchman ran for dear life, leaping to another catwalk and shouting in fear as he fled, which would not of helped him at all had Kim decided to go after him.

She put her hands on her hips and smiled as he fled in fear, "Finally, someone who gets that it's impossible to stop me." With the one-liner delivered (which she said because it finally happened), she continued on, shocking the locked door open with the shock stick. The door forced itself open and began to smoke; she didn't hesitate, she got inside in the event it slammed shut. It didn't, but she wouldn't take the risk. She took a right and began moving down the hall.

Suddenly, she felt something hit her from behind, a meaty punch between her shoulder blades, knocking her forward. She spun around, landing on her back, and didn't see anything... but there was distortion...

She realized it was one of Dementor's stealth-equipped henchmen, using an advanced piece of stealth technology Wade used in the battle suit's later upgrades, except Wade's variation was more streamlined and advanced. _Right, EMS busts the stealth..._ she recalled as she rolled under where she hazardously estimated the henchman was, getting behind him as she drew the EMS and fired. She hit him in the back, revealing a buff man in a all-black version of Dementor's henchmen outfits with green instead of red at the appropriate locations, green-black power lines from the backpack connecting to a dual bandoleer that contained the stealth technology, and a full helmet that had the face of the same color as the backpack's power.

She smiled, and sprinted at him, colliding with the henchman and sending him to the floor. She followed up by punching him in the neck, but the tough henchman took it in stride and struck back, sending her into the wall. Bouncing back, she leapt at him and kicked him in the face, disorienting him, then, as she landed, spun with a foot extended and hit him in the stomach, following with an uppercut that accidently connected with his groin. Ignoring the unfortunate attack's location, she punched him twice more in the chest before leaping up and bringing him to the floor, flipping him over her head to make sure he hit it hard enough when he landed.

"Ugh..." the henchman moaned pitifully as he lay on the floor, dazed and nigh unconscious. Kim pushed him over that line with a strike to one of his nerves; a move she'd practiced in GJ's dojo between her junior and senior year, and took a quick scan of the stealth tech for Wade. Moving on, she looked at the map Wade had managed to provide her; _First AA battery is right... here!_ She kicked the door open, where one of Dementor's henchmen was manning what looked to be a guided rocket launcher, with a heavy next to him, guarding it. "We got company!" the heavy shouted as he saw her, "Look alive!"

She sprinted at the heavy, sliding under and kicking him with both feet in the groin, as per standard procedure for her dealing with Dementor's heavily armored goons (that is, hitting them low, where there wasn't sufficient armor). The man shouted in extreme pain as the flaw in the armor design was exploited, and Kim somersaulted backwards, onto her feet again, and leapt onto the henchman, tackling him and bringing him to the ground, punching him in the face, breaking his jaw and leaving him too dazed to do anything. _Ouch,_ she thought as her hand hurt from the consistent amount of pummeling she'd issued out, but she ignored the pain, going for the second henchman who started begging for her not to hurt him.

"Alright," Kim said, "Turn around and hold your hands behind you and I won't beat you up..." He did so, and she walked up to him, and pinched a specific nerve on his body, sending him to unconsciousness, out like a baby. "There, I won't beat you up."

She turned to the AA battery and pulled open the control mechanism; _Alright, let's see; hey, that doesn't look normal!_ She saw something unusual, and got a scan of it for Wade. Once she was sure the scan got through, she got to work. Thirteen seconds later, she had the site disarmed and she dumped the wires she'd removed into what looked like a vent, leaving the system inoperable until extensive repairs were made. She left, and moved onto the next AA battery, which was just before the second security suite, about a half a minute away if she didn't met trouble.

XX

**Two Minutes Later**

Will Du swore as his men reached the second strongpoint; they were doing far too _well_ for their own good this time, and had cleared out what he assumed was most of the henchmen.

"This is Assault-One to Geek-One, we're at Strongpoint-two and we need it nullified."

_"She's working on it; she just disabled the second AA battery and is moving onto the... aw nuts; Agent, fall back to a cleared area, you got synthodrones incoming, a lot of them, and more are coming."_ Wade reported.

"Got it; ETA?"

_"Thirty seconds."_

"Men, fall back to Waypoint-four!" which was just behind a fence they cleared before he made the call. The retreat was swift, orderly, and they got into position as the gate opened, revealing a large number of synthodrones, with grenadier synthodrones mixed in. The strongpoint's defenses opened fire on them, but the extra range gave the agents time to compensate their cover.

"Agents, target the grenadiers," Will ordered as he readied himself for melee combat, readying the electro-gauntlets he had for the fight, hoping they'd rip the synthodrones open as he punched. _Arms, maybe not, those are given a bit more layering, but the chest? Easily._

The GJ soldiers still using laser rifles opened fire, focusing on the grenadiers. Several electrically-charged _Blitztod_ grenades were hurled. _Unusual that they're outfitted to drones but not normal henchmen,_ Will thought, making note to record his observations later for review by GJ's command. A grenade exploded with an electric blue electricity field looking like it came straight out of a geek's first person shooter, sending a pair of GJ agents flying backwards into the fence, unconscious at the least with their armor smoking from burn marks. How they survived, Will only attributed it to their tough training regiment designed to make individual agents tough as iron.

As the first segment of the synthodrones reached them, Will activated his stun watch, the watch burning through the first synthodrone... and the second one stomped on his watch, pulling it down and breaking the wires used to generate the electric current to a target. _Damn!_ he thought, snarling as he punched the drone, a small glow at the knuckles of the electro-gauntlets as his fist opened the first drone's face, spilling goo all over him. He kicked the next drone to the side and another GJ agent ripped it open with his gauntlets.

Another pair of drones attacked Will, and he punched through them, using the gauntlet's enhanced energy to break through the fragile skin of the synthodrones, but unfortunately for him, the arms were durable enough to block, and the drones seemed to be doing that now, which told him that Dementor cared enough to make a better combat AI for the drones. _Not coming out of this without scars,_ he thought after he was punched in the gut, the synthodrone responsible taking an energy round to the head and collapsing, melting all over him.

XX

**Dr. Drakken's Lair**

**The Caribbean Sea**

"Doctor" Drew Theodore "Drakken" Lipski, better known as "Doctor Drakken", yawned as he woke up; he'd slept in the lab, again, passing out as he worked on mad science. _Ah, another day, another doomsday device to set off..._ he thought. Then the flower pedals kicked in, growing from his neck. Growling, he ripped them off. As cool as he thought his plant-based powers were, the pedals that kept appearing around his neck like a lion's mane were beginning to annoy him. Getting up and stretching, he walked over to his computer and entered his password, checking his E-mail... Shego left him a message.

_Doc;_

_ Found something interesting in Deadmerc's Haven, going to check it out. Some guy's got his hands on some serious hardware and something on those aliens, so I'm going to investigate. May be gone for a while; don't wait on me. If you need to reach me, my cell is with me but I may not be able to answer, have to travel incognito._

_ - Shego_

Drakken sighed, disappointed, he had dinner all set for when she'd come back from that anonymous tip on something going on in Deadmerc's. He then brought up the news, interested to see how things were going on the mainland USA.

He went through the headlines; _Iraq, is it really out problem?_; _Controversial Article on "Super-powered" Beings Causes Debate; Two-Dozen Killed in a Bostonian Brawl_.

Drakken frowned at the second and third; Iraq was something he didn't get his hands dirty with, it was all wish-wash of grey with a few shades of white and black; he distanced himself from that hotspot. He brought up the third article, and perused it.

_So, some superpowered brawl broke out in Boston between the cops and a renegade super with fire powers... and it set off a fuel tanker and killed the crew... what... what a waste._

He'd killed before, he knew that it was unavoidable in his line of work (his 'kills' were accidental), but this was... wanton. The super, far as he could tell, just wanted to _blow something up_, and didn't care if it was a fuel tanker with crewmen or just some old trashcan in the middle of nowhere.

He frowned as he read the names of the dead, then shook his head. These were only an example of what was going on. _Maybe it's time to ditch the villainy, at least seriously. Maybe make a few fake schemes for old time's sake, but at this point, I don't think there's any point. Sure, governments are weak... but where's the point of ruling the world if there's no challenge, no time to smell the roses of a plan in motion? I'm going to stay quiet, I think. No need to add another problem to a list already going on... heck, at this point I don't think the army is just going to let Kim Possible and GJ handle it, they're gonna do it themselves with _tanks_ and missiles... really big ones._

He thought on that for a minute, realizing that had the army not just let Kim taken the calls, he probably would of been finished off for good a long time ago... it was an odd epiphany, he was used to handling GJ and their PBD security arm, but if the army-army got themselves involved beyond trying to fight his legions of robotic terrors or being blown away by a doomsday device...

_Well... I suppose I should keep it down low... heck, only point in ruling the world at this point is to put it back on track._ he decided at last, saying "Irony" aloud, before returning to work on his latest project, the _Gravitonic Grappler_.

XX

**Dementor Lair**

**Colorado-Oklahoma State Border, USA**

Kim ducked as a pair of grenadiers threw grenades at her from two catwalks above the door, keeping her from getting inside as the door was locked with an electronic seal. On another catwalk, the access room was another OSHA failure, but this one had railings at least. She grabbed one of the grenades in midair and threw it back, but it exploded before it got halfway back, blinding her momentarily. She pulled the gum out of her mouth, having chewed it enough, and threw it at the grenadier. The gum stuck to his arm and suddenly expanded, the time-delayed air exposure after chewing resulting in the gum splattering over the left grenadier, immobilizing him as he tried to break free. Taking advantage of it, she used her grappling hook to swing under the catwalk to the right, pushing herself off the wall and swinging up to the catwalk, disconnecting her grappling hook, and grabbed the grenadier by the chest, hurling him over and into the catwalk below, the fall causing him to fall unconscious from impact. The other grenadier looked like he was almost free of the gum, but she fired another grappling hook into the ceiling, swinging across, and kicked the grenadier off the catwalk, sending him into some covered vat below his catwalk, leaving a henchman-filled crater on the covering. Releasing the grapple as she swung back over the main catwalk, Kim walked up, and used the shock stick to open the door, overriding the lock and forcing it to jam open.

She entered and rushed the two henchmen manning the console, throwing them at the door. The two henchmen down, she fired her EMS into the console and got out of the way as it exploded, the defenses down.

_Beep beep be-beep._

Kim answered; it was Wade, as she expected.

_"Nice going, Kim!"_ Wade said, "_Main defenses are down, but the GJ guys are pinned down in the courtyard by synthodrones. They have men down in need of medical evacuation."_

"Got it; knock the AA out?"

"_Yeah, then they can bring their hovercraft in. They have enough time to disable one of them if I hack, and they can get medevac going that much faster."_

"Got it," Kim said, "I'll knock out the nearest. Tell Du that I'm going to knock out the AA so he can call in his hovercraft; tell him to _get those wounded out of there_." She hung up and rushed out the door, seeing a distortion ahead in the hallway beyond the catwalk.

She didn't hesitate, and fired her EMS, down to the third-to-last shot of it left, disabling the cloaked henchman's stealth suit. She used a forward handspring to propel herself into his face, hitting him with the underside of her foot. Back flipping as she landed on her feet, she punched the henchman in the gut several times before kicking him with a few, well placed kicks, knocking him down and out as the absurdly resilient man took the beating until the end.

She continued on, a pair of synthodrones charging her. She drew the shock stick and, hoping it was recharged, and activated it. The stick spat electricity forth, the first synthodrone showing electric current briefly as it started to spasm like a character from a cartoon of _TV Trash Heap_, the arc of electricity leaping over to the second synthodrone and doing the same.

"Wow," Kim said as she watched the synthodrones burn out and, with the eye coverings blown open by the current, melt, "That's one I'm keeping." She continued on, clipping the shock stick to her belt as she moved.

She came at a four-way, and looked, checking the map, and took a left. Another pair of synthodrones charged, but the shock stick wasn't recharged by her estimation, so she leapt forward, kicking the drones into each other. As she landed, she grabbed one and threw it into the wall, hard enough that small leaks began to form, spilling synthogoo slowly, but enough to defeat the drone. The second synthodrone needed a bit more, and Kim grabbed her laser lipstick, jamming it into the drone's head and melting the core components, and moved on.

Kicking the door to the AA battery open, she saw this one was guarded by another henchman with a jetpack, who rushed at Kim with his charged jetpack. She leapt over him, and he hit the doorframe, ripping his jetpack's wings off. Smiling for a second, Kim rushed at him and punched him repeatedly in the stomach until he collapsed. She then rushed in where the henchman manning the AA turret shouted, leaping out of his seat and tried to attack her, managing to punch her. Kim staggered back, but used a leg sweep to send the henchman to the floor, then shot her EMS into the anti-aircraft battery, causing the key systems to implode from overload. _Two rounds left,_ she remembered.

She called Wade; "Wade, start hacking and tell GJ to send in the flyboys."

"_Got it!_" Wade began rapid-fire typing, and Kim heard the distinct sound (or lack thereof) of power going out... Wade had hacked more than just the AA...

"Wade?" she asked as she scanned the downed henchman's jetpack for Wade's research.

"_Looks like your sabotage let me disable other things; all base power is off line. Call me if you need anything reactivated. Can't disable the main synthodrone production, self powered... the thing is in the center of the base."_

"I'll disable it," Kim said, hanging up, the scan sent, as she heard the whine of GJ hovercraft. She paused a moment, and watched as the two henchmen manning the other batteries ran for cover as a pair of missiles from the first GJ hovercraft sped at the turret, knocking it out. After that, the hovercraft laid down suppressive fire, mowing down the synthodrones as they threatened the GJ agents on the ground, who were wounded, mostly burns from laser hits or _Blitztod_ grenades, were being moved onto the fourth hovercraft. _Good thing there isn't any more AA; it's not a dedicated and marked medical transport and still armed to the teeth, so the Geneva convention won't protect it._

"_Assault-One to Cheerleader-one; good job. We'll knock out the factory."_

"Scratch that," Kim answered, "I'll knock it out, you keep them occupied, you're too battered to make a push against the limitless army of synthos."

"_Do you have the munitions to destroy it?_"

"EMS to the power core," Kim answered as she began to move towards the synthodrone production center, walking to the door from the AA battery.

There was a distinct pause, then Will answered, "_Copy that. Men, push to Waypoint-Five and dig in. Air support, keep the drones down, we'll go for any henchmen still around."_

Kim checked the map; Wade had the location, and she nodded as she looked at it, glad the main factory wasn't far, and shut the map down as she entered the hallway.

She moved quickly, Wade turning the base's lights back on (synthodrones had night vision, Kim didn't). She reached an elevator and called Wade; "Wade, I'm at an elevator. I need a ride down."

"_Got it... power restored to the elevator. Head on down."_

Kim stepped in, and suddenly the elevator went speeding down. As it hit the floor, she staggered to the floor, hitting her head.

"Wade..." she said as colors exploded in front of her eyes, dazing her, "More control..."

"_Sorry._"

Shifting her hair out of her face and shaking her head to try and clear it, Kim moved out of the elevator and saw the facility producing the synthodrones; there was a half dozen henchmen, two grenadiers, a heavy, and three regulars. She chewed some of the bubble gum, two sticks, and climbed a catwalk above stealthily, hoping she wasn't spotted.

As one of the grenadiers looked up, she threw the gum down at the grenadiers, entrapping them. She leapt down, using one of the normal henchmen as a landing pad, bringing him to the floor back-first. She kicked the regular henchman next to her in the face and knocked him back, before spinning and blocking an attack from the other regular, before grabbing him and throwing him into the heavy. The heavy was staggered, and Kim used that chance to leapt up, grab a convenient flagpole like extension from the factory to swing forward, kicking the heavy in the face, causing him to collapse.

"Target! Target!" shouted one of the grenadiers as he freed himself from the gum, hurling a grenade at her. Kim back flipped out of the way, the grenade bouncing off of the heavy and into the catwalk's crossbeams above, exploding and damaging the crossbeams. Kim sprinted forward, and kicked the first grenadier in the groin before attacking the second grenadier with her fists, causing him to drop his grenades, which harmlessly bounced along, fortunately inactivated with the pin having not been pulled. She threw the second grenadier into the first, leaving the two in a pile. She looked around, and saw the pulsing power cell keeping the synthodrone production online. She drew her EMS...

Only for a meaty punch to her lower back to knock her forward as she pulled the trigger, and the EMS round harmlessly hit the floor. A cloaked henchman had hit her from behind; she whirled around, grabbing for the shock stick and firing, the arc of electricity speeding at him and arcing along the circuitry involved with his suit's stealth systems, causing the henchman to become mostly, but still only partially, visible. The electric current didn't affect him directly, however, likely insulated by his full body suit. He grabbed her arm and swung her away, sending the shock stick away, and her EMS was on the floor when she dropped it to grab the shock stick. She slid across the floor on her back, facing the henchman.

"Stealth field isn't at zero percent yet, Possible, it's regenerating!" her opponent taunted as he steadily began to become less visible, looking almost ghostly. She knew she had to finish this _now_. Leaping up and sprinting at him, she used a front handspring to propel herself rapidly and kicked him in the face, cracking his faceplate and causing him to stagger. Kim landed roughly, however, on the unconscious body of a henchman, and slipped backwards. Her opponent rushed her, and Kim sidestepped the attack, leaping up and kicking him in the back as she moved behind him, knocking him forward in his direction. She landed better, next to the downed henchman, and leapt at his back, grabbing onto the larger man's neck and began to squeeze.

"You... really... going... to choke me?" the stealthy henchman asked as he fell to his knees, his arms unable to reach his neck due to his elbow and shoulder guards.

"If... I... have to." Kim responded as she struggled to knock her opponent out by depriving him of oxygen.

He turned, grunting in pain for another minute as the two struggled, the henchman trying to remove the disruptive pads. He began to fade from view.

Thirty more seconds passed, Kim could feel the strain of her arms as the stealth field took effect, meaning that if he didn't go down soon, he'd be able to stealthily remove the padding and beat her apart, with her only defense being trying to spot the distortion or recover her shock stick... Finally, she felt the henchman collapse, and let go. He hit the floor, planting his face on the concrete as far as she could tell. Taking a second to catch her breath, Kim moved and recovered her EMS, and walked up to the power source, taking the protective grate off, and fired. The final EMS round sped forward, and hit the power, causing secondary explosions to rip through as the power core ruptured. Averting her eyes as smoke and shrapnel flew into the air, Kim heard a call, but didn't answer, she was looked at the downed henchmen, moving one away from the flames that nearly caught onto his pants. The other henchmen weren't in danger, and she recovered the shock stick, inhaling as GJ agents swarmed inside, one of them tripping on the stealth henchman and revealing him with a stun watch hit afterwards.

Will Du, covered in synthogoo and sporting a couple cuts and mild burn marks, walked up and nodded to her. "Miss Possible."

"Agent," she responded curtly as a GJ soldier shouted "_Clear!_"

"Good job. You were right. We needed to save that hack."

"You weren't wrong, you know; I may of needed it." Kim admitted, feeling awkward from the admission, and being covered in sweat and some synthogoo from the fight didn't help much either.

"Maybe we'll work together another time, Miss Possible. For now, however, let's get these henchmen into custody. Any known fatalities?"

"No." Kim said, "I don't kill."

Will Du nodded, and turned on his recorder, "Mission accomplished, base secured. Moderate-high casualties, all wounds. Some are potentially fatal, but medevac has recovered them." Turning to her, he added, "By the way, you'd make a fine spy, I reckon, at least, in the sense of taking out an enemy base and sapping their defenses from within."

She shrugged, "Ah, I'm too well known to be a spy. Romanticized version, sure, real one? Nah." As she turned towards the exit, Kim suddenly had a thought; four hovercraft, four anti-aircraft batteries...

"Uh... Agent. I think we both just failed, epically."

"How?" Will asked.

"Four hovercraft, four AA batteries, Wade's hack..."

The two simultaneously face palmed as the realization of a much simpler solution kicked in.

"How did we miss this?" Will asked, almost ashamed to show his face as he left his hand there.

"I don't know..." Kim answered, "But I guess I _can_ do anything..."

XXX

**End Chapter**

**Author's notes:**

**- The face palm at the end? That's actually sort of how it went with me. I wrote the whole assault out and went back to tidy it up as a second round... then I realized at the end, "**_**Wait a second, there's four GJ hovercraft, one of them totaled an AA battery while Wade hacked it... why couldn't GJ just do that in the first place and establish air superiority, using the armaments they have to rip apart the turrets and suppress the henchmen**_**?" The face palm, I guess, breaks the forth wall yet maintains it. (There's an oxymoron). Guess Kim isn't **_**dangerously**_** genre savvy, but still savvy.**

**- This chapter, especially Will Du and his team taking on the henchmen, was me showing that GJ actually has some competence, as I realized that I was unfair earlier to GJ when I pointed out how 16+ agents got owned by Gemini; these were baseline red(blue?) shirts VS a named character, how do you **_**think**_** it is going to end if the plot wants Gemini to win?**

**- Dementor tricked out his mooks, a benefit of subscribing to HenchCo, I reckon. Expect other villains to start sending out mooks with variety besides legions of cookie-cutter red shirts; I always disliked those unless it made sense (IE, zerg rushing synthos), mostly because I have a hard time believing that they wouldn't ever think, "OK, these boom sticks aren't working against Possible, why don't we try like, swords or some other melee weapon?" Not that that'd work, mind...**

**- Something I always found (morbidly) amusing was the fact that in the games, Kim and Ron's angle of attack tends to be... tender and squishy, so I play with it here. I see Kim as, as far as hand-to-hand is concerned, a combat pragmatist. Especially when fighting guys decked out in armor that makes them nigh invulnerable to hand-to-hand attacks in most areas of the body. I mean, she regularly slugs guys who look like they're goddamn terran marines in cloth powered armor, so I doubt she did it by not taking advantage of anatomy if she happened to know it. Besides, her mother's a brain surgeon, probably some residual nudges about how to really lay down the hurt with strategic strikes or something in a brawl...**

**- One of the first things I knew when I started having to think of how magic would work is what's been shown on KP, and what can be derived from it. First of all, a lot of magic is artifact based, only Sensei is shown to actually use "conventional" magic, which told me that magic users were not run of the mill as we'd think of in D&D, or they were heavily concealed; I'm subscribing to the latter. Second, I had Ron's display at **_**Graduation**_**; it looked a wee bit overpowered for that to be **_**standard**_** magic usage unless humanity goes all Imperium of Man and decks out every cheerleader in powered armor, iron fanaticism, and gave everyone and their baby boy **_**really**_** oversized guns that could blow holes in M1 Abrams. But since that's a bit extreme, balancing Ron so he can't just god mode sue anything is something that I have to answer, and I have an answer to explore later on to do so. Third, an oddly large number of the artifacts were related to monkeys; makes sense, Monkey Fist was the primary villain using magic; the only other one I can think of off the top of my head was Jackie the Jackal from **_**Pain King and Cleopatra**_**, but he was a one-shot villain. I think it's safe to say Aviarius dabbled in some magic, considering the power staff he had didn't look very much like a tech based creation, but that's most of what you see for magic outside of the monkeys. One shot villains.**

**- Corollary to the above, in a sense, Ron's uber-powers was much like why Kim's battle suit was uber in **_**So The Drama**_**; Bob and Mark were capping off the series, so why not give KP or Ron something nice and powerful that they won't have to explain away later? Then Season 4 came so they had to have Dementor handicap Kim's suit, but Wade evidently fixed out the kinks a few times (see the "In-Universe" document below for my theory) only to have it go klutz again. Ron's powers are **_**much**_** more difficult to justify a nerfing of him. It is something to tread lightly on.**

**-=Document Recovery: Wade's Files: Battle Suit (Part II)"=-**

-_ Source: Wade's Database_

**[Resuming Document]**

_- 3/4/06: Suit hasn't been used yet, but the preliminary tests Kim has done indicates that it's working fine, but I'm not sure. I noticed some strange energy readings when it was in use. I'm definitely not crossing this off of the "Experimental" category until I've figured out what it was. Heck, there's still work to do on the suit itself._

_- 5/23/06:__** [Audio Record:] **__"YES! YES YES YES YES! THE SUIT WORKED! WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO! KIM WAS FREAKING BADASS IN IT! SHE KICKED SHEGO'S ASS! BOOYAH! Haha! YES YES YES! I DID IT! I BUILT THE PERFECT WEAPON FOR KIM POSSIBLE! Hahah, wooooohoooo! Wade Load, you are a genius, redundancy intended! Hahaha! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..."_ **[Distinct pause for about thirty seconds]** "_Man, I'm almost a mad scientist... that's not good..."_

_- 5/30/06: Kim's foiled a few more run-of-the-mill villains with the suit; check off Monkey Fist, DNAmy, Gemini, Doctor Quantum, Eviscerator, Big Frog Cad, and Absolute Cleavage off of the to-beat-with-suit baddy list. I wonder how Dementor is going to react, the technophile... anyways, I think I earned myself a nice relaxing break in my holographic simulator; maybe link myself for some in-depth _Fortress_ matches or maybe rejoin good old Raid Night on Everlot... man it's been a while since I participated in Raid Night; think folks miss me... few touch ups on the suit tomorrow won't be a hard thing; just need to do a few minor tweaks._

_- 6/1/06: Celebrated way too soon. Turns out those strange energy readings is a previously unknown form of radiation that's infected Kim through and through. Kim isn't sure what it is, but every time she suits up, she feels like she needs the suit more and more. I've done tech scans and determined that there was a glitch in the nanites that I missed despite multiple checks. I need to get to work figuring it out, now, before I become the one who killed Kim Possible!_

_- 6/3/06: Bad news continues; Kim was sick in bed this morning from what I'm calling Battle Suit Radiation, or BSR for short. Ron stormed by and was pretty pissed; since we didn't tell him about the battle suit until he actually saw it during Lil Diablo. Man, it's scary to see him angry, but he'd give his soul to protect Kim... should be thankful I'm not a supervillain who forced the suit onto Kim, or I think there'd be pieces of me scattered across the highway..._

_- 6/5/06: I did some in-depth tech scans and visited Kim's house; she's not home sick and was able to go to school, but she was definitely under during it. I have to fix this; now. I was the one who wanted Kim to have a high-tech battle suit, and now here I am, the kid who, in his own technophile love built the ultimate battle suit for the ultimate heroine, and now may be the one who got her killed because of it..._

_- 6/6/06: I've been working night and day to get this done, but I think I finally got it; the problem was the palladium power nanites I was using. The palladium itself was fine, but it just didn't mix well with plasma shield. I'm going to design a counter for it once I finish this antidote... I have to make it work..._

_- 6/7/06: Thank God! I was able to correct it and cobble together a serum to counter, though Kim mentioned that it tasted horrible, but I averted the crisis. The battle suit should be perfect now once I make the update to the design and put the counter in, we've ironed out all issues, and I can start looking into upgrades for it. Already modified it to be more receptive to Kim's impulses and upgraded the power behind it in general. Also managed to fix the issue with the palladium power nanites, but I need to run a few tests with Kim when she's ready; with plenty of anti-BSR ready._

_- 6/20/06: Kim's off the anti-BSR, at last, and we're going to start battle suit testing in July again. I've continued my research into a stealth mode for it, using the tech for my Wadebot 2.0, but I'm having trouble calibrating it for personal usage. Something to save for later, I think._

_- 6/23/06: Kim tested the suit in a controlled environment; I did it, I fixed everything. Going to see how she fares, but I think I might of countered the issue for good._

_- 7/11/06: Kim tested the suit again in a combat mission against Duff Killigan; it worked like a charm and Killigan was booted behind bars. Looks like the battle suit is good to go as a regular gadget. Ron actually approached me about a suit; well, it may of gotten out of experimental phase, but it's going to take a long time to design a new one for him; I'm just glad the nanite repairs work, I can't make another suit quick enough with the full capabilities to replace it if it's damaged in combat, even if I already have the research done._

_- 9/1/06: Kim just took on and beat Dementor with the suit; according to her, Dementor was having an _**epic**_ freak about the suit! Man, I wish I could see it, but Kim was kind enough to give me the details... I think she knows how much I wanted to see his reaction. And they said Germany was the place that produced all the best tech. One up me, Dementor, I dare ya!_

_-9/5/06: Alright, Dementor tried to take Kim out with a trap, but the battle suit worked like a charm again. I think at this point it's safe to say the battle suit has no more flaws that I can correct; only improvements on the design. Kim's curious on a color change from white to a more combat-suitable one, but that means I have to build a whole new suit. I think I might start some preliminaries for it._

_- 9/9/06: Ugh, I can't believe I never considered the possibility! Dementor hijacked the battle suit, analyzed it somehow during that fight on the fifth, and used remote control. Since Ron had swiped it to get onto the football team, it meant that Ron very nearly killed Kim! Man, that's the second time the suit's nearly been the death of her! I've taken the suit at Kim's instance back to my room; I have a lot of tech work to do. Dementor's tampering has damaged the systems considerably; until I can rectify that, I will not risk Kim being taken advantage of like that. (Man that sounds dirty... why must I always be victim to rule thirty four, why Wade, why?)_

_- 9/15/06: I think I managed to reverse most of Dementor's sabotage, but I need to replace a lot of the nanites. Going to take a few weeks, but while that's going on, I think I'm going to install stealth systems into it; I have the technology ready, just need to implement it._

_- 10/14/06: I managed to restore the suit; Kim used it effectively against Drakken's new alien, some "Warmonga" chick. Still gathering info on her, but the plasma shield was breached in the fight. Everything else worked like a charm, and stealth mode basically gave Kim the victory in the end. Still, I think that there was some kickback, the suit seems fine, but there's subtle agitation... I'm pulling the suit again, to make sure everything it set before Kim uses it again._

_- 11/25/06: Something's wrong with the suit; I keep making repairs, yet somehow it breaks down when I go back the next day. Been really frustrating..._

[**No major update for a few months]**

_- 2/16/07: Man, that wasn't good; I couldn't find the suit for two hours straight last night! And right when Kim needs a new mission outfit. Well, until I can fix this, she might as well go in civvy clothes._

_- 2/20/07: I'm not sure what's wrong with the suit, everything I try seems to backfire. Maybe it's too many systems... or maybe the tech just isn't stable... but why break down now, and not before?_

_- 3/14/07: Alright, I think the suit is set. I sent it back to Kim's room, hopefully we'll make use of it soon. I had to put a timer on stealth mode, however, that was giving the suit some problems. Kim's really hesitant to use it again because of its unreliability, though. She's saving it for tougher missions. Guess that makes sense..._

_- 5/1/07: That was close with Yono; good news is that I have some magic attack stuff to work with now, not much, but think I can upgrade the suit's plasma shields and make sure they're hardened against it. Going to do that for a while, then recall the suit when it's time to make the upgrade. Kim's still curious on a better colored suit, but at this point, I think she might as well keep it._

_- 5/6/07: I need to have a serious geek-to-geek conversation with Larry at the next Netherworld Battle Strategies Meeting; his tampering yesterday and use of the battle suit completely ruined it, and with Kim's graduation coming up, I won't have time to repair it in case something goes wrong during her graduation; and mark my words, something will._

_- 6/3/07: I don't know how the suit survived the walker dropping in on Kim's house, but man I'm glad it did. It's still on the fritz, but at least I didn't lose it. Nearly lost my data too, but I backed it up in remote hard drives, so I'm alright and should be able to get back on track once I have some time. Not sure if I'll have time though; Jim and Tim are really making some breakthroughs on the plasma blasters on those walkers, and I need to keep finding out what makes those walkers tick before Area 51 and GJ pick up every single sample._

_-7/3/07: I've gotten the suit adjusted as best I can after what happened with Larry; I had to completely strip the redirection gauntlet and stealth is a no-go, and the plasma shield is reduced... man, it's so sad to see the battle suit so... so weakened. It was the ultimate weapon just a year ago... and now... now it's just a shadow of its former self. I really hope Kim gets a chance to use it again, back in its full glory. One day, maybe, one day. But I've been so busy studying this lorwardian tech samples that I just don't have enough time to devote to the battle suit anymore._

_- 7/11/07: Gah, the BSR came up again; good news is that it seems to be much more mild than last time, and since we caught it early, Kim shouldn't need to be on the meds for long. Still, I do want to figure out just what's causing this radiation; it seems to come and go. I wonder if it's like addiction to the powers... tests. Lots of tests. Battle suit also shut down during combat, need to check the palladium core nanites to make sure it's still powering properly. Since I'm at Kim's house for the time being, I can get a good look._

_- 7/22/07: I finally figured out what's wrong with the suit; the stealth and plasma shields just don't mix. I'm going to update the suit so that it can take the usage of the shield or the stealth systems, like a module. That way Kim should be able to make use of it, yet Kim will have access to the stealth if she needs it. We need to test it though; and with those mysterious "Conclave" guys coming out, Kim may need it. I also need to do more research into incorporating something to keep that kill-magic from being used on Kim; no way a plasma shield is going to counter it, it bypasses all defenses from what I know. Maybe Ron can 'borrow' a scroll from Yamanouchi about magical spells like that, or maybe how armor can be made to resist magical assault... man, I hate magic. It completely throws my scientific knowledge out the window, it seems... least Ron's readings keep on the scale, but he wasn't in full monkey mode like he was at graduation, so who knows._


	5. Chapter 5: Prophecy Fallacy

_"You know, ancient magic is always complicated, any hints that some ancient mystic left years ago is always vaguer than fog that looks like solid steel, and they don't even use regular doors. It's crazy, I mean, how did they even get anything done back then, I don't think they had _that_ much time on their hands, did they? And man, that prophecy stuff near Yamanouchi was just messed up and didn't make sense... what threat? Dominion? Yeah, we kinda figured that out when we got jumped by a few armies in every major city... Lorwardians? Well, alright, we could of been smarter about that, but come on, they shut everything down before we knew they were coming. If I was one of those mystics back then, I'd of just put it simple; "Yo, dude, big bad threat is coming, and here's what it is and what you can do to stop it!" See, bam, easy, booyah , sealed."_

- Ron, ranting about the fact that prophecy always seems to be vague and impossible to translate in time to be useful beyond the desperate chance, as recorded in his _Liber Memoriarum._

_"With all the chaos going around and factions carving out their own areas, super villains and even corporations are hiring more and more mercenaries and henchmen to protect their interests. The trick is finding services of a suitable mercenary company, and a lot of new merc groups need a way to find contractors because the government doesn't have high approval ratings of a number of these groups. We can make quite a profit from this, especially in the post-invasion chaos. All we have to do is use our stations in places such as Deadmerc's Haven to get contact information for mercenary groups looking for work, then send HenchCo representatives to various people who want an easy way to find mercenaries."_

_"We take in token fees from any mercenaries hired and one-time fees for a representative to be sent or a mercenary group to sign up, and we only have to set up the contact. It'll probably also encourage customers to keep using our services since we have a representative there, so it's a win-win all around if we just charge a small contact fee for other services, nothing evasive, just a small add on, like one percent, as to avoid draining _too_ much capital from the people we need to sell to... at least, all at once. Long term performances, of course."_

- Jack Hench, founder and CEO of HenchCo, on starting HenchCo's new mercenary contract services, to give anyone willing to participate (mostly villains) a quick way to find mercenaries to use as henchmen

**Chapter 5: Prophecy Fallacy**

**July 15th, 2007**

**Yamanouchi Ninja School**

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron inhaled as he sat in the grove, _trying_ to meditate and find the focus he needed to grab his powers without an emotional catalyst; he'd gotten a more reliable hold, but it was still tentative and very shaky. _Kinda odd, emotions powering me up always seems to be when Kim or Rufus can't pull off a save... that's weird..._

After another twenty minutes, he stopped, the focus just wasn't coming. He stood up, and looked for Rufus, who was playing in the tree branches relatively quietly. He walked into the main room, and wasn't surprised to see Sensei walk in.

"Stoppable-san," he said gravely, "Come, your lessons will not be held today."

"Huh?" Ron asked, frowning, "Something wrong?"

As they walked towards the back, Sensei explained, "My friend, Fredrick, brought grim tidings. He says that there is indications of a threat nearby, and his diviners see Kim Possible in the middle of that conflict. I spent time investigating such."

Ron shrugged, no alarm bells ringing in his mind, though he did know Sensei left one night, "Doesn't sound unusual. World's always doomed, it seems."

Sensei glared at him; and Ron winced, and said, "Sorry. Gets a bit a bit old when I hear "ancient threat" after saving the world countless times." _Still doesn't get us any cred with the socialites though..._

Shaking his head, Sensei smiled before sobering up as he continued, "Now, he says there is a link to one know as "Generalissimo", who may have knowledge of the threat. The location Fredrick gave me was a dead end, but I found a clue sufficient to locate the link, I suspect. I would like you to go with Yori and investigate, I must remain here."

"Isn't Yori with her family?"

"She returned shortly before you began your training this morning."

Ron paused, about to make a comment along the lines of _'you could of told me!_', then stopped it, and nodded, "It'll be an honor."

"Thank you, Stoppable-san, and good luck. I will give you a map before you head out."

Ron nodded, walking into his room and grabbing his backpack; _Alright, good, my rocket boots are still in here... should be useful for those vertical cliff faces around here._ He also pulled out of the pack a medical kit that Wade had acquired after Drakken's attempt to freeze the world using _Hank's Gourmet Cupcakes_ as a cover, which Ron took to help settle the constant abuse he seemed to take. He put the extremely small kit into his other pocket and slipped the boots on, tying them down and keeping them secure. He glanced at his mission outfit for a moment, then decided against it. The skintight robes used for training would suffice. Besides, he only had one set of mission gear. Couldn't get it shredded right away.

XX

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim, having gotten back from the state border two days ago (she slept at the GJ field base and brought some salvage they wanted Wade to look at back with her), was sitting in Beuno Nacho with Monique. It was an even more popular hangout now because the mall had been utterly reduced to rubble during the lorwardian attack and unlike the rest of the town, reconstruction was going to be a long time coming; most people bought a soda or something cheap, since money was starting to become scarce too. She glanced at the scar on her arm from the bullet that had grazed her during the Hel's Demons attack; it was healing well, fortunately, and she wasn't expecting it to be permenant.

"So, how's the Ron-man doing?" Monique asked as she put her soda down, "He didn't stick around long once you got back from Nevada. Lemme guess, his glowin' stuff?"

Kim just looked at her deadpan; _Does _everyone_ know that Ron's off training?_ she threw a glare at Ned, who was cleaning the counter for the nth time this afternoon, Ned gave a toothy grin, a vein throbbing, and Kim had a guess that he was innocent.

"Does everyone know?" Kim asked, sighing.

"Hey, girl, it's just like you, you save the world almost a hundred times, people noticed. Ron went mystic kung-fu on aliens who completely wrecked the whole world? You betcha people notice."

"Guess they wondered where Ron was after the bikers made their stunt."

"Yeah, my dad didn't take happily to being blindsided, nearly tore Hobble apart about the cops not doing their phone chain."

Kim nodded, "I dunno what Chief Tanner was thinking when he cancelled that."

"Well, my dad finally used the shotgun..."

"Wait..." Kim asked, caught off guard, "What?"

"You know how every dad around here seems to have a shotgun? The one they say they'd threaten boys with when they come over?"

"Uh... my dad doesn't own a shotgun." Kim answered in a confused way, "He threatens boys with adding them to deep space probes from the space center."

"Well, my dad owns one, so does Tara's dad, and Amelia's, and Marisa's, and Leslie's, and..."

"I get the sitch; is my dad the only one who doesn't own a shotgun?"

"My dad doesn't," Bonnie said from the nearby booth, dripping with content, "I'm too perfect to need my dates threatened with a shotgun or a deep space probe."

"Yeah, well congratulations, miss only-girl-in-summer-school." Kim answered sarcastically, glaring at Bonnie, "Say, don't you have a test tomorrow?"

Bonnie growled, and went back to studying the array of textbooks in front of her.

"Nice one," Monique commented with a grin, "So, what's your plans for tomorrow night?"

"Long as there isn't anything on the Dementor sitch; nothing. Why?"

"Felix is heading out for Virginia Tech soon, Zita's throwing a good luck party for him."

"Sure, I can go." Kim said, smiling. She paused, then hit her wrist Kimmunicator; "Wade?"

_"Yeah, Kim?"_ Wade asked, back in his own house now that his mother had cooled off and Wade made amends (she didn't press for details, for her own sake).

"Anything on the Dementor sitch?"

"_Nope; hang on, hit on the si-, ah, never mind."_

"Wade?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"_Thirty-four."_ with that, he cut the transmission, and Kim sighed.

"We're heading towards something out of a stereotypical dystopia story, and people are wasting time with insane fantasies..." Kim muttered, annoyed as Monique shrugged.

XX

**Load Residence**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Wade deleted the completely gross malformation of the internet from the website, then grabbed his 'bullshit bag', which Ron had gotten as a souvenir when his family went to Grand Canyon and went on a horseback ride, and waiting for any puke to come up. None did, fortunately.

"I just wish I had some brain soap or something..." Wade muttered, trying to unsee what he'd seen, something beyond the usual desperate guy with an internet connection. _Why are men so... dumb! Honestly... don't they know that if they try anything Kim would beat them into something resembling a visceroid... freaking testosterone..._

He glanced at his other computer, which he used for gaming; it wasn't as good as his old one, but he'd made some modifications to compensate, and went back to repairing all his save files the old fashioned way, playing through again and saving at appropriate places. _How a gamer should recover their lost save files, even if they're brilliant hackers._

XX

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron tapped his foot as he waited for Yori at the established rendezvous, she'd gone up here this morning. _Ugh, hope I don't have to rescue her again, getting the affection now would be __**awkweird**_; he thought, Rufus was snoozing in his pocket as they waited by the healing springs he'd passed when he was originally sent to Yamanouchi as part of an 'exchange' program.

He heard a rustle in the bushes, and saw a monkey ninja. He eyed the ninja, and the monkey eyed him back. It began to make noises, and Ron responded, "Hiya!"

The monkey then left, scurrying away. "Yeah that's right," Ron said, grinning, "You run for your banana-eating mother-"

"Stoppable-san!" said someone behind him, and he turned, his _**not**_ curse cut short.

"Oh, hey Yori," Ron said, completely forgetting the rest of his insult as he turned to see the young Japanese woman, "What brought you out here?"

"The healing springs," she explained, "I have a wound the lasts, but it is healing well. I saw you coming up and went to change before you showed up."

Ron blinked dumbly as dots connected and an image he really didn't want any more hit him, "Yeah, probably for the best... so, where we heading?"

"There's a small ice cavern nearby, it's normally forbidden and we're not told how to find it, but Sensei wants us to go there."

Ron checked the map; "Alright, lets follow this map, OK, follow the volcanic hot springs, head past the rebuilt ice bridge, go _away_ from the volcanic cave..." he muttered the rest as he put the map away, "Alright, let's go."

They continued, following the well-travelled path. Ron kept an eye on the trees, half expecting a monkey ninja to appear out of nowhere and attack. But it didn't happen, not as they walked by the trees, and not as they crossed the rebuilt ice bridge.

"Wonder how they rebuilt it..." Ron wondered aloud as they crossed.

"Sensei asked an old friend of his, and he used magic to assist the ice in restoring itself." Yori explained, "The bridge is a connection to some important sites."

"Fukishima was quick to wreck it," Ron said wonderingly, "Then again, dude was a lot of bad road." He paused, then asked, "Whatever happened to him anyways?"

Yori paused, her lip curling as if surprised by the question, "He... what is the American term... was on'd?"

Ron raised an eyebrow, "On'd? Huh?"

"He's... dead."

"Oh," Ron said, realizing she meant 'offed', "Didn't know that. What happened? Dude slip on a peel or something?"

"Ah, no... he got on the wrong side of the law."

"Not everything's capital, I mean, Drakken tried to take over the world dozens of times and he never got the death penalty," they'd crossed the bridge at that point and were on snow again.

"It wasn't us, he was caught against another group, some American enclave, I believe, and they didn't take kindly to it."

"Huh, don't sound like nice guys."

"You have killed before, and knowingly."

"Yeah, I killed a pair of freaking _aliens," _Ron threw his hands up to emphasis the point, "who were planning on mounting _Kim's __**head on a wall!**_" Ron stomped the ground to get the point that this was _evil_. Killing them was _merciful_ in comparison to what he wanted to do.

There was an awkward silence afterwards as they continued to walk up the hill, Ron briefly wishing he'd asked to use the Lotus Blade if they encountered any problems... then he figured that Sensei wouldn't give it to him until it was time for him to take up his destiny as a master, not just a student. _Besides, I need a lot more sword practice before I use it for reals..._

Ron held up a hand, "Hang on, lemme check the map..." he pulled it out, "OK, why did the north-south just... oh." Yori turned the map around for him, "Thanks... alright, let's go, northwest now."

They continued on, then Yori asked, "How's little Han doing, Stoppable-san?"

"Good, real good, literally driving us up a wall though. Literally." Ron said, recalling his parents' nightmare in trying to find a babysitter; Kim was the only one who dared regularly, and even then that was pushing it for her. _Man, I wonder if that's what our kids are gonna be like,_ Ron wondered as he looked towards the future, unlike previous times he'd done so, he'd looked at it with hope, even with people dreading more chaos to come from the breakdown of the law post-invasion in quite a few places. _'cause if I don't get this magic mastered before Kim and I make that step, we're looking at a lot of rough, but hilarious, times..._

Yori chuckled, breaking Ron's thoughts that had gone on in the short period of time as she identified what Ron meant by 'up a wall', "I see you haven't dropped the American-style jokes."

"My honor... OW!" Ron hit a tree face first, "Who put a tree there..."

"Tree?" Yori asked, frowning.

"Yeah, right here..." Ron poked it, "See?"

"No..." Yori put a hand forward, which brushed against it; she put her palm to it and nodded, "But something is here..."

"So how come I can see it if you can't?"

"Your magical nature, I suspect. I don't have your kind of powers."

Ron mumbled as he pulled out the map, "Well that explains why the map's needed... ah, Yori, what does this say?"

He pointed to a small Japanese symbol next to it, and Yori said, "You need to touch the trunk and will passage."

"Right... magic stuff."

He put a hand on the trunk, and thought, _OK, open up... magical teen here trying to open up... hello?_

Nothing happened, and he grinded his teeth, trying to figure out how he'd 'will' something open... _Ugh, easier said than done..._ He punched it twice with each fist (and boy that hurt), trying to get the point across, "Come on, open up... open sesame, open oasis, open Fuji... _what do you want?_" He applied his forehead to the tree, causing him to exclaim "Ow ow ow!" as his forehead hurt like crazy. Yori just watched calmly as he tried to figure out how to open it.

"OK... I give- huh?" He looked towards a cliff and saw something moving; "Uh, Yori?"

"I believe you've managed to open it with your American style antics. Come!"

Ron muttered as he followed her, "Stupid magic stuff... why can't it just be a simple passphrase, or simply put a stinkin' glowin' fist to a stinkin' glowin' hole..."

XX

**XX**

XX

_[KP131__ has joined #TeamPossible (Password: KRKI60)]_

_KP131__:_ _Joss, you there?_

_Geek-One__: Hang on, she disconnected before you logged, your uncle was rebooting the wireless connection, custom made and all that stuff. Trying to reach Ron, but no dice. Time zone issue or he's training, I guess._

_KP131__: Thanks Wade. Wonder where Ron is. You have him chipped?_

_Geek-One__: Yeah, but I'm not getting a signal. Last spotted it at the Yamanouchi school though... oh, Joss is coming on._

_[Cowgirl86__ has joined #TeamPossible]_

_Cowgirl86__: Hey there, Kim._

_KP131__: Hey Joss, what's the stich on your end?_

_Cowgirl86__: Not much; Deputy Raynor stopped by the Lazy C though._

_KP131__: Why?_

_Cowgirl86__: The hombres are at it again, always have been since Drakken came by the Crooked D; the Straight I's been callin' meetings, 'specially Sherriff Warren Peace._

_KP131__: Sounds like Montana's getting it rough out there._

_Cowgirl86__: Not as rough as the Burned P, they got burned to the ground. Shouldn't of called it that, I reckon..._

_KP131__: WHAT? Wade, why wasn't I told?_

_Geek-One__: Deputy Raynor and a couple other of the local law enforcement already handled it by the time I heard about it. We were heading to Nevada when it happened, and I didn't think you needed a distraction since Joss was fine._

_KP131__: Wade..._

_Geek-One__: No deaths, just a couple people with mild burns... actually, one person, Ted Baxter, had a serious one, but it won't leave any lasting harm._

_Cowgirl86__: Yeah; he was looking pretty bad, but he and his family's fine._

_Cowgirl86:__ Lighter note; pair of the hombres tried to swipe Ol' Tornado._

_KP131__: That end the way I think it did?_

_Cowgirl86__: You bet. So how's Ron?_

_KP131__: He's off getting some 'extra-curricular' learning if you know what I mean._

_Cowgirl86__: Summer School?_

_KP131__: Nah, save the world prep stuff. You remember those alien walkers?  
__Cowgirl86__: They didn't land 'round these parts, remember?_

_KP131__: Oh, right. Well, you heard how Ron smacked 'em down._

_Cowgirl86__: You betcha. Still watch the footage though._

_KP131__: Still on it?_

_Cowgirl86__: Nah, the loony fan phase is over. Still practicin' though, never know ya'know?_

_KP131__: ..._

_Geek-One__: Hah, sweet, I can still be doing the Teen Hero site work. Wondered what we'd do once that angle left._

_Cowgirl86__: You really like your niche, don't you Wade?_

_Geek-One__: You bet. Still trying to get all my hardware back though. I might send over some henchmen analysis files, get you an idea of what most villains pack. Heck, I can probably link you to the Shadow-Training module I set up. At the very least you can get an idea of some basic combat training._

_KP131__: Wade, you aren't seriously encouraging Joss to make the same mistakes I did, are you?_

_Cowgirl86__: What mistakes?_

_Geek-One__: What do you mean by mistakes? Far as I know, you saving the world was a _good_ thing when you consider how competent GJ agents can be sometimes... *cough* Will Du *cough*_

_KP131__: Joss; I'm not trying to say what I do isn't good, but I got in deep way too young. You still have a chance for a normal life; if you _really_ want to try and follow my footsteps, don't do it until you're old enough._

_Geek-One__: There's something hypocritical, miss Saved-the-World-at-Age-14 :D_

_KP131__: Not funny, Wade. You know all too well how many times I nearly _died_ out there!_

_Cowgirl86__: Keyword; "nearly"._

_KP131__: Look, Joss, it's great you want to do the right thing, but don't try and follow my footsteps all the way, it's asking for trouble these days._

_SlimJimP:__ Well how do Kim._

_[SlimJimP__ is no longer Invisible]_

_KP131__: Wade, why didn't you tell me uncle Slim was on?_

_Geek-One__: I told you that he might be on earlier._

_KP131__: Right... so, how much of this did you see?_

_SlimJimP__: All of it._

_Cowgirl86__: Aw, Dad, really?_

_SlimJimP__: Don't worry Joss; I know why you want to. World needs good folks with all the varmints running around causing problems. Anyways Kim, I just slid on to mention that we're fine up here in Montana, better off than a lot of places. Being backwater has its edge and all. Still trying to fix my dang satellites though, stinking aliens had to knock them out._

_Geek-One__: That was actually Doctor Drakken's plot two schemes before the invasion._

_KP131__: The Chronocube incident?_

_Geek-One__: No, one after, between that and the plants._

_KP131__: Oh yeah, when he tried to copy the Mega-Weather Generator up in Norway. Ron didn't like being up there._

_Cowgirl86__: Does he have a _reason_ to hate Norway?_

_SlimJimP__: Ancestors bonked by Vikings?_

_KP131__: Nah, his ancestors were Austrian, IIRC. He just started hating Norway randomly come the start of sophomore year, right after our first cheer practice. Especially something called 'meat cakes'._

_Cowgirl86__: Weren't they cheese makers?_

_Geek-One__: The fact she knows more about Ron that we do..._

_KP131__: Yeah, I know, weird._

_Geek-One__: Not the word I'd choose... uh oh; Kim, hit on the site. Lowerton's got a super causing problems; looks like a super strength basher, better keep the shock stick handy._

_Geek-One__: Good news is that he doesn't seem to have any other powers, so he shouldn't be able to take too many hits._

_KP131__: Got it Wade; sorry Joss, g2g._

_Cowgirl86__: No big._

_[__KP131__ has logged off of #TeamPossible]_

_[__Cowgirl86__ has logged off of #Team Possible]_

_Geek-One_: _Wait a minute, how did Slim stay in invisible mode? HE WAS DISCONECTED! HELLO?_

_[__SlimJimP__ has logged off of #TeamPossible]_

XX

XX

**XX**

XX

**(Hidden) Ice Caverns**

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron held up his hand as they entered, "Got a light?"

"No, I did not bring a torch with me."

Ron nodded, looking around for something that'd stay lit while they were inside; it didn't look very bright down there. "I got nothin'..."

"Then we'll have to be careful," Yori said as she walked forward. They entered the caverns, Ron shivered as a gust of wind blew up from deeper inside.

Suddenly, he felt a trapdoor open below him, and shouted, trying to activate his rocket boots but it was too late; the activation only made him slam himself into the back of the tube and disorient him as he kept going down.

"Stoppable-san!" Yori exclaimed, but the trapdoor had shut before she could jump in after. Ron went speeding down a glacial ice tunnel, and sped out the end, landing face-first in a cavern. It was pitch dark, and he could hardly see.

"Aw man..." Ron said as Rufus popped out of his pocket, shivering. "Can't see-"

Suddenly, faint cyan lights appeared at the top of small poles of glacial ice, giving the room a foreboding feeling of cold fear. He glanced around as he saw something walk towards him, tall, bony, and with a sword...

"Rufus, this just went Antarctic south," Ron said, realizing he was about to be attacked. He entered a Kung-Fu stance and shouted, "Whooooyah!"

The figure stepped out of the shadow, revealing itself to be a skeleton clad in full armor that looked like bamboo to him. He almost swore in horror at the thing's head, the _bare_ skull it was. It charged forward and Ron ducked under it, swiping the legs out from under it and causing the sword to fly into the air. Ron looked up, then at the skeleton thing, and smiled, leaping up to grab the sword...

But it stuck into the ceiling as he grabbed it, and Ron sighed, "Why does that never work..." He tried to swing back and forth for a kick, like Kim would do, but he didn't have the ability to pull it off as he lacked her raw agility, and a bony hand grabbed him.

"Whoa!" he shouted as he was pulled down, the sword still staying but dangerously shaking. He rolled out of the way and tried to call on his power. _Come on, come on... power my fists up or something!_ he thought as he ducked another swipe from the skeleton's shard-tipped gauntlets. He threw a punch in desperation, hitting the armor full on. The skeleton staggered, then Ron felt something flowing, and seized it. He felt his legs tense in brief tugs, and knew he was charging with power now. He took it, a blue glow around his fist and a simian sound echoing as he punched the skeleton again, the torso of the skeleton breaking off, leaving the head and limbs floating for a comic second before the rest of it collapsed. The sword then fell, landing in front of him.

"Booyah!" Ron shouted, then picked up the sword, "Thanks for the sword!" The sword, on closer inspection, was rusted, but Ron took it anyways, just in case. He advanced through the cavern for another two minutes, the cyan lights giving him a passage to follow.

He found a small alcove which was covered in runes in a circular pattern, and saw a pair of monkey ninjas guarding it. The ninjas turned, taunting him in their simian language.

"Bring it!" Ron said, twirling the sword tauntingly... and losing his grip, sending it away into the darkness, where he heard a loud clatter, as if it broke. "Oops."

The two ninjas rushed him, one leaping high and one leaping low. Ron leapt over the low one and hit the high one with a mid-air punch, sending it backwards. Rufus leapt out of his pocket and started stomping on the monkey while Ron turned and started taking on the second one, who punched him in the gut. Ron grunted as he took the hit, and responded by kicking swiftly. The ninja back flipped to avoid it, then spun forward, but Ron answered the spin attack with a punch, hitting the ninja square in the face and knocking the monkey back. Ron felt his limbs throb and rushed it, a solid kick connecting as he sent the ninja away into the caverns, cold and unconscious. Rufus hopped back into his pocket and Ron picked up the other ninja and threw it, then walked to the alcove the ninjas were guarding. He smirked as he realized his magic just came to subtly give him the punch he needed to end it.

He looked at the runes, frowning, and tentatively put a hand on it. Suddenly it flashed, glowing a greenish-cyan color, blinding him. He saw a series of images flash in his head...

_A red headed woman in battle..._

_A golden scale thrown out of balance..._

_Fire and fury...  
And pride to be descendant, or ascendant_

It ended there, but it felt incomplete. He inhaled as the images ceased, putting a hand on his head. He frowned as he felt something there, and a crystal was in his hand.

"Where'd that come from?" Ron asked, frowning. He glanced around, and saw a door that hadn't been lit before. Frowning, he fingered the crystal, watching green energy flow around inside of it, feeling like it was important. He walked towards the door, and it glowed, stone runes circling as the door opened.

"This is elaborate," Ron said, frowning as he continued to follow the trail, then suddenly began slipping as he stepped onto glacial ice.

"Whoa whoaaaah!" he shouted as he began to slip and slide, his arms flailing uselessly as he tried to maintain his balance as he sped down. Ice spikes suddenly shot out from hidden holes, nearly impaling Ron as he dodged them by sheer dumb _luck_. _Or the Ron Factor..._ he thought as one nearly went through his skull.

He tired to leap, getting over one of the ice spikes, then landed on his face, sliding forward until he hit snow, and pushed himself up as he crawled onto it, panting, "Glad that's over..."

Suddenly, he heard a rumble, and looked up behind him... a snow covered boulder was chasing him, tumbling down the passage.

"OK that shouldn't ev_en fit in here!_" he complained as he began to run away at a full dash, leaping over a gap over what looked like a bottomless chasm, running forward. Suddenly he heard a swish, and groaned as he saw an icy giant blade swinging across a gap ahead, over the middle spot that he knew he'd have to land on. Bracing himself for potential pain, he leapt to the middle, ducking as the blade came by, and leapt forward, putting his mad running away skills to the test as he tried to outrun the ice boulder.

There was a large gap, and he gasped, he leapt, but began to fall down into it, and with a swift double-click of his heels, the rocket boots ignited, launching him out of the hole. He grabbed the ledge, and pulled himself up, missing the fact that there had been monkey-bar like grips above the pit. He pulled himself up and rushed forward. There was a thin sheet of ice ahead. Resigning himself to pain, he crashed into it head on, cutting himself as he broke the fragile ice and kept running for dear life. The boulder bounced slightly at the gap, giving him a precious few seconds to get ahead. There was another gap, and he leapt forward...

Suddenly, a glacial ice wall. And he hit it head on, flattening himself onto the wall.

He slid down, groaning and dazed, and landed on his back. He heard a thud, and saw the boulder stuck ahead... and there were cracks forming. He pushed himself up, and crawled out of the way, trying to keep going, knowing that any second, the boulder would keep trying to squish him... suddenly, there was a magical whine, and the boulder disappeared as runes floated up around him.

"Oh, that's nice..." Ron said, catching his breath as he looked up, seeing another alcove. Then, in horror, he felt around his pockets, realizing the crystal wasn't in his hands or in his pockets.

"Where is it, oh man where is it?"

"Hi!" Rufus squeaked, and Ron looked over; Rufus was at the top, having somehow found the crystal. _Probably hopped out of my pocket when I lost it._

"Haha, badical!" Ron said as the naked mole rat hopped down and put the crystal in his hands before going back into his pocket. Ron walked up to the rune circle, and put the crystal in.

It flashed red this time, blinding Ron, and drowned him in the visions...

_Power corrupted, bloodied with hate..._

_Rugged determination, testament of unpowered will..._

_History once erased shall repeat..._

_Evil shall rise, and so will a heroine..._

The images stopped, and the crystal was now a flowing mix of red and green color. Ron shook his head, "What the heck?"

XX

**Drakken's (Former) Lair**

**Bahamas Islands**

Shego surfed just above the water on her hover board, glancing to the left as she saw someone on a speedboat approaching, and he was wearing a quite gaudy costume. _Hero or villain?_ she wondered for a minute as he approached, shouting "_Chaos for WWEE!"_

_Villain,_ she decided, recalling Gemini's 'World Wide Evil Empire', and how she rejected it because it was a bunch of idiocy right out of _James Bond_. She sped towards him, charging her plasma, and hurled a blast at the WWEE agent with the symbol for the Greek letter Tau on his chest, hitting him there and knocking him into the water.

"Sucka!" she taunted, saluting him mockingly as she passed, and continued on, the remains of the lair in full sight now... and there were several more WWEE agents there. _Oh great, Gemini's desperate for Drakken's stuff. What an idiot, Drakken moved everything back to the usual lair._

She turned to the left, intending to land on the side of the island so she had a chance to see if Gemini had brought any of his new assault robots or the ninjas he'd been hiring...

Hiding the hover board behind a bush, she looked... and saw a Lil Diablo, in toy form, being toyed with by one of the WWEE technicians on a makeshift table... and suddenly began to grow, to the joy of the WWEE engineer, crushing the table as the cybertronic technology got to work.

_Oh boy,_ she thought, then smiled; it might actually be challenging this time; she'd never tried taking on one of the Lil Diablos before. She leapt out, landing on one of the WWEE agent's back and bringing him down to the ground, then hurled a pair of plasma bolts at the technician, blowing him away. Two more WWEE agents rushed her, but she leapt up, spin kicking the first one and as she landed, she uppercut the second one and knocked him out. The leader of the agents charged, but she kneed him in the groin and hurled him into the remains of the lair's main building. Then the Diablo, fully grown, turned on her...

It charged it's plasma channel guns and opened fire; Shego started to back flip out of the way, explosions following her as the plasma rounds hit with a distinct channeled _dun-dun-dun_ sound. She turned as the last round ended, hurling one of her plasma bolts at the Diablo's head. The green energy hit, and it's head cocked back slightly, but then it's hand switched weapons...

It was a _flamethrower._ She sprinted to the side as the fire roared out like a dragon, burning the bushes behind her as the Diablo began to cook the area, and the downed WWEE agents. _Drakken never did get the organic IFF fixed,_ she remarked silently, remembering that they had a pre-programmed 'no combat' zone to compensate, which was the HQ Drakken had hijacked. Obviously, she was quite far from it. She got close enough to the Diablo she was able to start punching at the leg joints, one of the few weak spots it had. Her plasma enhanced strikes were more than sufficient to cause some serious damage, the Diablo staggering... then it switched to the _chainsaw_ it had, and swiped at her. She rolled out of the way as the Diablo began cutting at her, the chainsaw kicking dirt into the air.

She hurled a bolt of plasma at the chainsaw as she cleared its range, hitting it and damaging it, but it was far from destroyed. The Lil Diablo robots were designed by Drakken to _take hits from main battle tanks_. Heavy artillery he couldn't plan for, but the armor of the Diablo was designed to take on military tanks, and had done a good job at it. She leapt away again as the Diablo switched one of its arms back to plasma and fired as it began to march closer to her. She dodged, jumping and weaving, and hurled a lucky plasma bolt straight into the firing chamber, causing it to malfunction and blow off, but the Diablo ignored it and marched right towards her, chainsaw buzzing.

Shego slid between the legs and shot it from below with plasma as the chainsaw tried to follow, then leapt onto its exposed side and hit it in the head, before leaping off as the chainsaw came by, only to buzz the extraneous hat thing off. She didn't know the technical term, but she knew it was completely extra, only for intimidation factor. She started to charge some of her plasma as the Diablo turned and charged her. She leapt to the side, and grappled with the left, still working, arm, and sawed the chainsaw off with her plasma, taking several hits to succeed. With the Diablo weaponless, she leapt up onto the head and began wailing on the head, breaking open the circuitry and, once it was vulnerable, obliterated the control unit, and she rode the Diablo to the ground, leaping off right before it kissed the sand, landing on her feet.

She chuckled as she walked off, ignoring the dead WWEE agents, and started to sift around for clues to this "Generalissimo" and his arsenal. She entered the wreckage of the lair, and started looking, but even as she shifted away wreckage, she found no clues...

She turned around, and saw the WWEE head agent was still on the floor of the lair itself, his body only mildly scorched. She walked over and started searching him for anything useful, and found a standard issue WWEE recording device. She turned it on, and Gemini, a man with an eye patch over his left eye and with a Bond villain-equse beard, shaped like a stylized, rectangular W, appeared in the screen.

_"Agent Gamma, we've discovered an arsenal in the Bahamas, with a number of Doctor Drakken's little Diablo robots. I want you to take one of our technicians and acquire them for WWEE, they'll be extremely effective against Global Justice-"_

Suddenly a dog started yipping repeatedly, and Gemini turned to something off the screen, adding, "_Sorry Pepe... daddy will put a quarter in the GJ jar..."_ before he turned back to the camera, putting his eye practically into it, _"Don't fail me."_

Shego was about to shut it down, then it provided her with coordinates. Grinning, she followed them, hopping back onto her hover board and checking the device every thirty seconds or so to figure out her location in comparison.

After a few minutes, she found it, a concealed door in the mountainside of a nearby island. She frowned as she examined the door; solid titanium. _Didn't stop me down under,_ she thought, and charged her plasma, melting the door open as she moved her hands to melt it through; it took at least ten minutes, but finally, she had a hole large enough for her to enter. She walked in, and saw rows of the Lil Diablo robots, and smiled as she saw one was missing, confirming for her exactly what she wanted to know. She entered further, and found another databank.

The screen began to scan here, **"Identity Confirmed. Congratulations."**

A recording began; the silhouette of a man with what looked like some high-ranking officer's uniform appearing on the central screen. Shego recognized the recording instantly.

"_Greetings to the villain or villainess who activated this message; if you do not know already, I am known as "Generalissimo", a pseudonym I adopted for this... project of mine. You see, with the world in chaos after the alien invasion, now is the time for a villainous ruler to take over the world. I have created storage areas not unlike this one with the intent of a worthy person, one worthy of the title 'villain' or 'villainess', to claim them and use them well to bring about their master scheme. Be aware, of course, others seeking to prove themselves worthy are also after these. Keep such in mind when you make your claims."_

"I get it," Shego said in annoyance as the recording she'd already heard played, "What's the data?"

The next recording, however, was different;

"_Humungous mechanized weaponry, a staple of evil weapons. These Lil Diablo robots, designed by one Doctor Drakken, are a fine example of what advanced technology can do. The actual technology was developed by one Doctor James Timothy Possible; indeed, the father of that annoying teen brat Kim Possible, which makes the fact that the Lil Diablo was the closest evil plot to take over the world an ironic thing indeed. These robots are the heavy hitters of a legion of terror, use them wisely. You will also find samples of alien walker technology, from the aliens that attacked earth recently, whose name is 'lorwardian'; which, in the English language, becomes a play on warlord, and is quite fitting. Small galaxy after all. A smart villain takes anything it can learn from, and adopts it to his forces, and is always vigilant for hidden weaknesses in such technology."_

Shego paused as the databank brought up more information that had been gathered by this "Generalissimo" on the lorwardians. She nodded as she read it; _So, they're like conquistadors, at least their hunters are... huh, mention of multiple castes, but 'detailed knowledge is unknown'. Interesting. Bet I could get some cash from GJ or PBD for this data, if nothing else._

She thought more about things as she downloaded the information to her flash drive (it had an abnormally large memory, thanks to Drakken's modifications). _You know, if I give this all to Dr. D, he'd definitely be able to throw a bona-fide take-over-the-world scheme together, and it might even work if we keep Possible or PBD from getting word. Be ironic, Possible graduates from high school, Doc gets a medal for saving the world, and we turn around and conquer it. Well, they're the ones not locking us up for breaking out of prison dozens of times if nothing else... people are funny like that._

Then she remembered why she quit Team Go in the first place, and any amusement she found from the turn switched to disgust, _Idiots, though, since they aren't taking shots at us while they can._

The download of information complete, she looked for the next clue; it was a haiku.

"_Guardian of Stone;_

_A long ago gone_

_sect of magical knowledge"_

Shego frowned, considering. _A Haiku... Japanese style poem, five, seven, five again... huh, that sidekick might be a problem if that monkey style stuff leads him to Japan... wait, Tai Sheng Pek Kwar is an art that started in Japan, even though actual Kung Fu is a Chinese martial art... explains the baby that was with the sidekick's parents being Asian. There's something fishy here, alright..._

Guardian of stone... that rang a bell, somehow. _Think I need to visit that mutant Monkey Fist's castle; this sounds like his kind of thing. He's not going to be in considering he's stoned, but I bet he left a few of his monkeys for security purposes._

She closed the databank, downloading the haiku as a reference, and considered what to do with the Diablo robots... She glanced, then realized that they were small enough she could use HenchCo's No-Questions-Asked services to deliver them to a drop off point and have the synthodrones from the Australian MSPF storage pick them up, until she needed them. She glanced around, and figured she could find a box to hold the Lil Diablo robots for shipping. She didn't really care about them at this point, but why throw away something useful? _Second thought,_ she decided as she walked out, _I'll just send them to the Doc._

XX

**(Hidden) Ice Caverns**

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron walked through the next passage way, the door glowing red this time as it opened. He took a step forward, and looked around; it was a tight passage...

Suddenly he heard a rumble, and the ground began to _sink_.

"Aw man!" he shouted as he pocketed the crystal with Rufus, who held onto it, and started sprinting as the floor seemed to sink into steps. The first one was hardly inches high and he got over it, the next one similar. He leapt over the next one, a foot and a half high, and the next one called him to use his rocket boots to sail up...

Suddenly, a controlled gust of wind blasted him; he slid his foot on the ground to stabilize, but he got blown away despite his efforts, almost slamming into the door when another cold current held him in place, and he started to be slowly pushed down. He struggled to break free, but no luck.

"Oh come on," he moaned, grunting as he failed to get out of the gust, until he was three feet from above where he'd started, and he was released, landing on his butt as he slipped on impact. He pushed himself up and glanced around; the caverns were rectangular, and the only path he could see was forward, up the now likely 10-feet tall steps. Then he heard a ghostly wail.

A red ghost of a monkey appeared, "Oh come on, _these_ things again! I hate 'em!" Ron shouted, realizing these were similar to the ones that had infested Monkey Fist's castle, and it swiped at him, clawing his chest, causing him to stagger briefly.

"Hey, back off monkey thing!" he shouted, punching in as retaliation. The spirit spun backwards, reforming in front of him, and struck forward again, but Ron blocked this time, and kicked at it, tumbling it backwards. He hit it again, and it dissipated. He glanced around, and another one rushed at him, green this time.

"What, rainbow monkeys? Bring it on, number three." Ron asked tauntingly as he punched it, hard, and felt the surge of magic again; grasping for it, a blue flash obstructed his vision, and he stomped his foot on the ground, a small, earthquake like _thud_ echoing as the ground tore and shredded the monkey ghost-thing, causing it to dissipate.

"Booyah!" he said, then another monkey appeared, red again. He rushed it, punching it in the face, but no magic came this time. _AW man, still not reliable!_ He got slashed by the monkey's claws across the chest, but no physical wounds were left; it was like it was a wound to his very... soul? Spirit? He didn't know, but it _smarted_. He lashed at the monkey, kicking it in its tail-like end, to no effect. He swung it at the monkey's face, decking it and causing it to speed backwards, tumbling, and dissipated with a bone-chilling howl, the ghostly wound seeming to fade. And _another one_ came.

He glanced up at the 'step', and realized what he had to do. He smiled as he ran over, and ignited his rocket boots, and went sailing into the air; as he came down, he grabbed the ledge and pulled himself up. Then he realized he was basically facing infinite enemies... _So I have to get out of here!_

A blue monkey ghost appeared in front of him and charged, and Ron answered by punching it, feeling the surge again, but the glow focused around his hands and he felt like he could punch a stone wall. "Awesome!" he said as he punched it out, sending it away and causing it to collapse into nothing in a howl of pain. A pair of red monkey spirits appeared and charged him, and used the glowing punch he had to send it tumbling away, and then thrashed the second one... and the glow faded as a pair of green monkeys appeared behind him.

"Adios!" he said, grinning as he ignited the rocket boots, soaring up and gripping the edge, pulling himself up. The two monkeys screamed and howled at him before dissipating, and Ron chuckled for a few seconds before he checked his boots; they were recharged. He had another three ledges to go. He ran towards the ledge, ready to jump up when a red ghost came flying down from above, knocking Ron to the ground as he tried to leap up, and he had to survive until the boots recharged; a very short period of time, but still hazardous. A single green and blue monkey also came out.

He rushed the blue one, punching it back and felt the power surging through him again, and whirled around, only to be swiped at by the green monkey, the spectral wounds hurting like hell; and the red one added its two cents. Growling, he punched the green one, and felt proper power surging through him; he turned, and as he spun into a blue light with a simian sound echoing and crashed into the ground. The shockwave from the impact, directed at them, blasted all three monkeys back, and they dissipated, some of the spectral wounds fading. Another red monkey charged, and Ron punched it, and finished it, the rest of the spectral wounds fading. _Huh,_ Ron thought, _The red ones seem to counteract any of these ghostly pain these guys deal. That's weird; it's like its being scaled to be beatable..._

Then he realized that was the _point_, this was a _test_, and cliché as usual. He rushed to the ledge and with a double tap of his heels, he rocketed up, and pulled himself onto the third to last ledge... and nothing came. He rocketed up again, and then to the last ledge, where the final alcove was...

And it was protected by a colored energy field, glowing blue.

"Great," Ron said, wracking his brains, "Where'd I see this before..."

A pair of red spirit monkeys growled behind him, a single blue one behind them. Ron rushed forward at the left red one, punching it hard and following up with a kick as the second one slashed at him, the defeat of the first monkey knocking out the slash of the second one. _Man I love this magic stuff,_ Ron thought as he turned on the other one, hitting it in the face, then jumping on top of it, the monkey being surprisingly sturdy a stepping stone as he kicked the blue monkey and knocked it off the ledge. He turned, and the blue energy barrier disappeared, a green one taking its place. Ron's hands didn't glow again as he entered a fighting stance as a single green spirit appeared, and they two rushed each other. Ron's punch didn't draw power, but the monkey flipped backwards. Following up, he struck with a fierce uppercut, and the monkey exploded backwards into the barrier, which collapsed, and the barriers were gone.

"I think I passed; Rufus, crystal me."

"OK!" Rufus said, popping out of his pocket and tossing the crystal, the green and red within still dancing, and he put it to the alcove.

Even though he was ready, the strength of the visions still surprised him;

_Times will be challenged, and balance will be tested, to fall or remain._

_And while a heroine shall rise to protect such balance, should she not have power..._

_... she shall fall._

The image suddenly blasted him back, proverbially, stunning him as the blue glow entered the crystal. He shook his head; "What the _heck_? This stuff's straight outta science fiction..." he muttered, wondering aloud.

He looked to the right, and saw one last door which opened; he went in, ready for anything.

"_Stoppable-san!_"

"Yori!" he shouted as he saw her... standing in the middle of a pile of monkey ninjas.

"Stoppable-san... you're fine."

"Uh... yeah." Ron said, smiling sheepishly, "Had a little challenge with some ghost monkey spirit things..."

"It is likely why these caverns are forbidden."

"On the plus side," Ron said, pulling out the crystal, "I found this _weird_ crystal, any clue?"

"No, Stoppable-san, but perhaps Sensei knows?"

"Probably. Let's go."

XX

**Monkey Fist's (Second) Castle**

**French Alps**

Shego, wearing a backpack in case she had to grab something relatively large, parked the hover board on a nearby cliff and climbed down the mountain side, slipping into the castle by its observatory, and ignited her plasma, ready for those ghost monkeys to show again. And one did, and it charged at her, but a few quick swipes and it dissipated. She grinned, and looked around, taking a left, aiming for the library rather than down into Monkey Fist's secret dojo like the last time she'd been there. She slid down the stairwell and moved down the hallways, swiftly dispatching a pair of the ghosts that got in the way.

"Haunted castles... ugh, always get old fast." she said aloud after thrashing a third ghost right before the library. Entering it, she looked around, "Hrmpf. Where's a caretaker..."

She heard something collapse, and ignited her plasma, aiming at the shadow.

"I'm terribly sorry, do I know you?" asked a short, almost dwarf-like man.

"Looking for something your boss left," Shego answered.

"Ah, I see. My name is Bates, by the way. What're you looking for?"

She handed him a hand-written copy of the haiku to him.

"Ah, there's a subject my master researched in his spare time. The _Stone Guardian of Satsuma_; a gorilla, actually, not a monkey like you'd expect."

"Alright, so where is it?" Shego asked.

"Satsuma, obviously. There are ruins of a temple there; I'll hand you the location. In the meantime, would you like me to bring tea?"

"No thanks;" she answered as she pulled out a book labeled _The History of the Conclave_, "I'm just here for the info."

"Fair enough. Oh, don't mind the monkey ghosts; they won't hurt you as long as you don't try to hurt them."

She nodded, her interested piqued the moment she realized this wasn't _any_ book, this was a book on an extremely close held secret... and most of it, except for a few notes old Monty had left, was in Latin. _Need to get that translated,_ she decided; she could understand some of it, but not all of it. She glanced around, and slipped it into the backpack she had brought for the raid.

XX

**Lowerton, Colorado**

Kim parked the Sloth and got out, locking it as she sprinted over as she saw the super punch through a stone wall belonging to a restaurant. There were several knocked-away police cars and downed cops were all over Main Street, crawling away, wounded.

"Hey!" Kim shouted tauntingly at the super, "There's a law against vandalism in this state!"

The super turned, and she got a proper look at him. He was definitely some sort of pseudo-hulk, a heavy, squat head on a mountain of muscle, clad in thick biker leathers and with chains around his arms, with two massive shoulder guards that looked like bent hubcaps.

"You think... to stop... _the JUGGERNAUT?_"

"Actually, _yes_," Kim answered, pulling out her shock stick, "Ready to sleep, evil _overload_?" She activated it, and the arc of electricity spat out, and the super screamed as the electricity shot through his body, stunning him... _Lame pun, but worth it._

"You so asked for this," Kim said slyly as she crossed her arms, the super hitting the pavement face first. He looked up and glared at her, causing her to realize he wasn't going out without a fight as he pushed himself up. She grabbed her grappling hook and grappled a nearby lamppost, swinging over him as he charged at her, the super slamming into a parking meter and knocking it over, causing it to shatter. Releasing the grapple, she landed on her feet and put her gadgets into their appropriate slots on her belt, and raised her hands, ready to fight. The super punched the sidewalk, creating a slab from it, and he hurled it at her. Leaping over, she briefly landed on the thrown slab of concrete before jumping off all the way and landing on the street feet first. The super charged at her, and while she didn't see any visible glow on him, she knew he was using his super strength to full effect.

"Come on, little girl!" Juggernaut shouted as he swiped at her, Kim dodging the deadly blows, well aware that with his strength, only one hit would be needed to break, no, _shatter_ her bones. She slid under and leg swept him, knocking him onto his face, breaking the asphalt. He pushed himself back up, only to see Kim coming down on him as she leapt at him, both feet impacting his chest. She pushing herself off with a back flip, landing on her feet. Juggernaut stumbled back, and growled, reaching for her. She slid to the right, away from his grasp, and hit his exposed left flank, getting several solid punches to his exposed side. He then grabbed her with his left hand, and hurled her into a window.

She grunted as she hit the wall inside, her arms bleeding from the glass she broke through. Pushing herself up, she saw Juggernaut charging at her, shouting, "I'm the Juggernaut, _bitch!_"

She rolled to the left, and ran forward, Juggernaut hitting the wall and bouncing off, leaving a huge crater in it, the neighboring store visible through a hole that'd been smashed open. He whirled around and ran after her; Kim hoped the shock stick was charged, drawing it as she leapt out the broken window, and turned it on, aiming at him.

An arc of electricity sped at Juggernaut, causing him to shout and trip forward over the broken window, sliding into a pickup truck and setting off the alarm. He growled, pushing himself up and rushing at her again.

Kim fired her grappling hook onto the balcony above, rising over the juggernaut of a man and she released the grapple to come down right on his shoulders, pushing him down to the sidewalk. She punched him in the throat, causing him to spit violently at her and gasp. She got off of him as he tried to throw punches at her, and she noted how the shoulder guards he wore kept him from hitting her when she was really close...

Juggernaut got up again, growling, and suddenly a loud, repeatedly beating sound was heard...

"_This is PBD, stand down and put your hands in the air, or we're authorized to use force! Won't ask twice!"_ shouted a PBD sergeant in a PBD helicopter gunship flying over, weapons trained on Juggernaut. Kim took steady steps backwards to stay out of any sprays of laser fire and tear gas.

"FORGET IT!" Juggernaut shouted, grabbing a nearby Toyota and hurling it into the air at the helicopter; the PBD soldiers opened fire with a pair of rockets; loaded with tear gas; a mistake as the thrown car, while it fell back to earth from the impact of the rockets, had kept the tear gas close, and the gunship was in the smoke. Kim saw the helicopter starting to fall, and knew that they needed help.

She rushed forward, a front handspring taking her forward, and she fired her grappling hook onto the helicopter and wrapping the hook around the landing bar, swinging up and into it, holding her breath. The sergeant, a few PBD soldiers in the back, and the two pilots were coughing, likely blinded by the tear gas, and couldn't control the helicopter. She shut her eyes as the gas began to irritate her own eyes, and reached for the controls, steadying them, slowing the helicopters descent down, and held it as she peeked open her eyes, looking out the window to see Juggernaut charging as they landed roughly. She got out, opening her eyes, sprinting at him and sliding under, tripping him and causing him to slide forward, the strength he'd tried to use against Kim causing him to rip the pavement open with his face. He pushed himself up, panting, his face covered in large cuts, and he roared, charging her. She jumped up, briefly landing on his shoulders before launching into the air, and, drawing her shock stick, zapped him one last time.

Tired, and weak from the beating he'd received, Juggernaut panted, turning as the electricity finished shooting through his body and looked at her, a look of disbelief on his face; "How... how? It's... Impossible..."

"Check my name," she answered, punching him one last time in the chest to make sure he stayed down.

"_Damn it._" And with that, Juggernaut fell unconscious as he slid backwards like a tree.

She heard footsteps, and glanced behind her; the PBD sergeant smiled, though she couldn't see his eyes, he offered a hand, "Thanks for the save, miss Possible. We owe you big time."

"No big," Kim answered, shaking, then gestured at Juggernaut, "All yours."

The sergeant nodded, "Farmer, Miller, get out here and lock this guy up! Make sure you're using restrainer cuffs, this super's a strength guy!"

Two PBD soldiers came out of the helicopter, and cuffed the super, and hauled him onto the helicopter. Kim frowned, then asked, "Out of curiosity, when did you guys get the chopper?"

"Yesterday; requisition finally came in." the Sergeant answered, "Kinda surprised myself, considering the budgets getting tighter with all the reconstruction going on."

Kim nodded, "Need any help?"

"Nah, we got a cleanup crew coming. Thanks for thrashing him for us."

"No big; not like he was invulnerable or anything."

XX

**Monkey Fist's Castle**

**French Alps**

Shego nodded as Bates gave her the scroll, "It's a sect known as the _Chronomancers of Satsuma_. Or was, as they were destroyed in an unspecific incident a few centuries under two thousand years ago."

"'Chronomancer'?" She asked, snorting, "What? They make clocks or something?"

"Time travel, supposedly," Bates said, "A bunch of nonsense, even by my old master's standards. Unfortunately, the area occasionally has agents from a place called Yamanouchi under a man known as 'Sensei' in the area, likely to prevent anyone of malicious intent from discovering secrets there. This 'Sensei' is apparently a master of _Tai Sheng Pek Kwar_, Monkey Kung Fu, much like my master was."

She nodded, knowing that whatever this was, the key was located in Satsuma, and she'd have to get there, and avoid any agents from that 'Sensei' fellow. _I wonder if that's Stoppable's teacher, or whoever taught him that crazy magic... great. Just what I needed. This'll be as bad as trying to get into Possible's house while she's home..._

She put the scroll in the backpack and nodded, "Thanks," she said, leaving a drip of contempt in her voice, "By the way, tell anyone I was here..." she ignited her plasma.

"Ah... yes." Bates said, with a sigh of resignation.

"Good." Shego said, and left, making ready to head to Japan.

XX

**July 16th, 2007**

**Late Evening**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim laughed, "Really, Felix, I knew you had a sense of humor, but I didn't expect _that_."

Felix grinned, "I've been saving that one for a while. So, where's Ron?"

"Abroad," she answered, and Felix nodded, not pushing the matter.

"So," Tara said, "Morning News said you beat the daylights out of a super down in Lowerton, single handedly."

"Yeah, wasn't that hard, it's not like he was superman." Kim responded modestly with a shrug.

"We'll see a flying brick eventually," Zita said, smiling as she passed the popcorn to Felix.

"Well," Felix said as he took some, "I got a feeling the kryptonite's comin'; ain't like us to not look for it. Just gotta hang in there 'till it's found, I bet. Heck, I bet Kim'll be behind it, or at least saving it from some villain who doesn't wanna see that out."

Kim nodded, not mentioning what her current sitch was with Dementor included. "Won't surprise me, considering how easily tech labs get broken into. Though draining all the supers would take the fun out of things... and it's not quite right to do it to _everyone_."

Tara shrugged, "If they can't use their powers responsibly, why let them keep 'em? That's my question. Probably ways to restore them anyways, if they change in the future."

Monique just said, "Hey, guys, you know that by the time such tech's around we're going to be seniors, right?"

"I thought we just became ex-seniors." Zita said, winking, and everyone laughed, the issues facing the world seeming to be gone; they'd survived the aliens, they'd survived the Hel's Demons, what worse could come?

XX

**Dementor's (Secret) Lair**

**Alaska**

Dementor nodded as he listened to the report, annoyed that it had come days late; "Vell, I suspected GJ would respond swiftly, did they learn anything?"

"No," Myron said, "But you never know."

"Yes, vell, call Lucy, he's in Go City, ve need to begin our distraction operation with zhose Vandals."

Myron nodded, and Dementor smiled. _The Vandals will cause enough problems to distract PBD while I get additional Sappers out to the various villains loyal to me, and when the time is right, we'll destroy these super heroes. I wonder if it will have an effect on Kim Possible; she claims to be a basic, average girl, but there is no way she can do all that without something beyond her having power. Still, I can't rely on the sapper working on her, so I'd best ready a proper doomsday device to take her out._

Before he went to begin that, however, he contacted Gemini; the leader of WWEE appeared on the screen.

_"Dementor... what is it?"_

"Gemini, it is time for us to begin ze mayhem in Go City."

Gemini smiled, _"Good, you finally got the backbone to commit to the operation."_

"Yes, vell," Dementor said, keeping a bluff of admittance up, "I had to ensure zhat my undercover henchmen there vould be up to the task of tackling those pesky hero types. I have already sent a prototype of the device ve discussed earlier to ze Vandals so they can occupy that pathetic 'Team Go'."

Gemini nodded, "_Very well. My agents are en route... expect a certain Motor Ed to be present there as well, he's become an interesting freelancer for WWEE payroll."_

Dementor grinned, having heard rumors of Motor Ed's ability with mechanics, and knew that if he was causing mayhem in Go City, the carnage would be sufficient to draw GJ off of his back, possibly even the attention of the hero community as a whole, while he continued his work, both on getting the sapper to various anti-hero groups as well as his ultimate plan. Lucy would observe, and ensure the sapper duplicates worked; after all, he had plans for the duplicates.

"Vell, I have other plans to put into motion, farewell."

He shut off the communications monitor, and grabbed his toolkit. He moved towards his base's garage, and resumed his work on his powerful, personalized halftrack, which he intended to use against Kim Possible in her own home town when the time came for his plan to be filled; He chuckled evilly, "Ze town zhat saw her into ze world vill be where she LEAVES IT!"

XXX

**End Chapter**

**- Bit of a shorter one, but this is what I like to call a 'foreshadow' chapter, to start laying some of the 'myth arc' for the story as a whole. We have Ron uncovering some crazy prophecy (complete with lampshade), Shego finding more dirt on this "Generalissimo", and Kim beats the snot out of a super strength user, with an internet conversation with Joss as a helpful indicator of how bad the world's starting to get. Amazing that colleges still roll, isn't it?**

**- Team Go is a popular set of characters in Kim Possible; so why not give them a chapter to shine next? I've heard that if there was a spin-off focusing on Team Go, people would watch it. Doesn't surprise me, considering that the episodes involving them are really popular, and I do agree they'd be a fine spin off. At least, in a more comedic mockery of general superhero concepts, much like KP was a tease of some (teen) spy movie/show set ups. Maybe a Disney Webcomic or something...**

**- Ron needed a chance to shine in this fic just as I have Kim reassert the fact she's a **_**badass**_** after Graduation's… **_**events**_**. His rocket shoes are basically from the KP GBA game; **_**Team Possible**_**. They really fit Ron in comparison to Kim's grappling hook, IMO, so I'm making nice use of them. Not very stealthy, of course :)**

**- Obviously, Ron's more proficient in combat, which is something that's been cultivated in the series itself when you consider Ron held his own in **_**So the Drama**_**, **_**Big Brother/Bother **_**(whichever you use), and **_**Oh No Yono**_**. Still don't get how Myron cleaned house with Ron in **_**Larry's Birthday**_** though... other than rule of funny.**

**- Shego's interesting to try and write, when you consider you have a brilliant but lazy character. As Rufus 3000 said in ASIT; "**_Wasn't it clear Shego was the only one smart enough to take over the world?_**". Problem is to find the catalyst to get her to actually try some evil on her own; that's what I'm trying to get at here. Spoiler? Well frankly, this is an overly-long prelude, to set up the setting! Besides, one look at my previous work and you'd see where this goes.**

**- Setting up the long run is something I always have trouble with; partly due to a habit of info-dumping and some lack of practice in pacing. :/ But I'm getting better, that's for sure.**

**- One thing I never understood about traps that involve giant boulders following you is **_**how**_** do they reload that thing? I mean, it's a huge boulder, if it isn't magically reloaded, how many guys does it take to get it back? And how does it avoid going down into gaps that always seem to be conveniently in place?**

**- Again, I could use some feedback on character portrayal/mistakes I'm making; I'm not perfect, as I probably stated earlier...**

**-=Document Recovery: "Team Possible" - "Kim Possible"=-**

_Source: Global Justice Databank_

**Important Figures/Teams/Organizations:**

_Choose File Set:_

_**Team Possible:**_

_(File: IMP-0)_

_Previously Updated: June 6th, 2007_

_**Overview**__: Formed by teen heroine Kim Possible and her sidekick, Ron Stoppable, "Team Possible" is the sometimes-used nickname to refer to the team as a whole. There are four members of the team; Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, his pet naked mole rat Rufus, and Wade Load. The four are easily the best team of heroes the world could ask for; they're capabilities are nigh limitless and so long as there's a snowball's chance in the Sahara, they can pull a victory off as far as can be determined. Of all heroic organizations, they have the best record at stopping any dangers, both super and non, and are hailed worldwide as some of the best humanity can offer. They are not directly affiliated with any organization other than Standard Geographical Determination, but have ties with Global Justice and have assisted in the past, and most of the team has expressed interest in joining Global Justice officially once they've either graduated college or become old enough._

_Legal Status__: Clean _

_-* Technically speaking, 4 years of illegal vigilantism and associated property damage (approximately two and three quarters billion USD worth of villainous equipment), but no charges have been brought up or even been admitted into a court of law_

_Date of Founding:__ Unknown; roughly early September of 2002._

_-* Officially registered April 29th, 2006 after the passing of the Colorado Authorized Vigilantism Act_

_Group Leader:__ Kim Possible_

_Group Activity Level:__ Active_

_Group Affiliation:__ Freelance (GJ leanings, but otherwise nothing)_

**-Sub-Directories:**

_**Members:**_

File: IMP-01

_Subject__: Kim Possible_

_Alias:__ "KP" (Ron Stoppable's nickname for her), "KP131" (online alias)_

_Gender__: Female_

_DOB__: May 20th, 1988 (Approximately Midnight; unable to confirm time)_

_Classification__: Freelancer_

_Origin__: Natural_

_Affiliation__: N/A; has shown interest in joining Global Justice_

_Citizenship__: United States of America_

_Summery/History__:_

_- The founder of "Team Possible", and considered a keystone of ensuring world safety, the subject became world famous relatively quickly, but her path to become such was ironic. She initially set up a website to get jobs such as baby sitting, but with a typo by one Mister McHenry after his client, Mister Paisley, had set off a McHenry Laser Gird, Kim Possible instead got the call rather than the mercenary "Team Impossible". She succeeded in rescuing him, and gained a brief few minutes of fame before more mundane events took course. A few weeks later, a freelance scientist had sent her a call, as he had not had any luck with police support, and she recovered a secret formula (see file GEN-17A for details). While there was a minor news drop on the report as the case had befuddled local police, the scientist passed on word to his colleagues, including several Global Justice agents. At this point, Agent Owen Vein was assigned to keep track of her movements and operations. Shortly after, she foiled Professor Dementor's scheme to take the prototype stage of a new fuel intended to be used for GJ stealth craft, and while the details were kept on the down-low, this was just one more event to push her towards her eventual heroics._

_- The thing that got her true fame, however, would be a run-in with a WWEE front company, who was behind a series of robberies, resulting in several of the world's leading militaries to lose key secrets (file MOA-01B). First time she used what would be known as her "mission" outfit; the two went into the front company on a lead provided by, unbeknownst to her at the time, by Wade Load. She proceeded to clear the entire facility of thugs, hired as freelancer guards by WWEE to avoid detection. Her efforts would have been kept quiet by NATO and other military authorities, but the release of many hostages that had been kidnapped by WWEE for assorted purposes prevented such, and she was catapulted into fame, and became a premier heroine, despite being only in the early stages of puberty. She also recruited Wade Load during this time, and thus Team Possible was now fully assembled._

_- Since then, subject has been saving the world, including many notable cases such as the "Lil Diablo" incident (File: STD-06), the Canadian Weather Machine Incident (File: EHH-99), Operation Green Day (File: SNO-07), recovered the Centurion Project (File: OCT-31) and prevented key Global Justice research from falling into the hands of WWEE in "Operation Unstoppable" (File: TRF-01 to TRF-99). She has maintained a clean record as far as heroics, and while she is indirectly responsible for the death of some henchmen involved with evil schemes, no one has tried to bring that point up, as it is unnecessary. She was also present at the recent alien attack (File: WAR-87B), but had a comparatively minimal role in the operation. Subject has made it known that she is interested in joining Global Justice. However, analysis indicates that it may be best she remain a freelancer that is not directly tied to Global Justice, but she is too good a recruit to ignore._

_- Concerns have been raised by GJ operatives about her fame, suggesting a very possible subversion potential, especially after the incidents involving Jack Hench's "Attitudinator". Simulations based on her being turned evil become just as terrifying if not more so than those involving Ron Stoppable, due to her status as the effective number one defense the free world has against supervillains, and lacks superpowers, nullifying most anti-power tactics. Concerns are also raised about mental stability despite psychoanalysis saying she's mentally stable, due to exposure to high amounts of combat trauma during her pubescent years._

_- Further theories to her success are wide and varied as the people who make them, but Global Justice has determined that she lacks powers. Some would say her ability to get reliable rides to almost anywhere in the world would count as one, GJ has determined that it is much more a case of reputation; should she lose her reputation, she would presumably lose access to her rides._

_- She has also been victim to mind control several times, including Doctor Cyrus Bortle's "Neural Compliance Chips" and "Moodulators", though no lasting damage seems to have been done by such, it is a deep concern of Global Justice and Power Buster Division officers about how open she is to such, and fears that she could be subtly changed by a cunning enough villain._

_Combat Style__: _

_-Subject is naturally gifted with advanced hand-to-hand combat techniques, and retains a considerably agile style, agile enough to even dodge __heavy weapons__ fire. She also specializes in unarmed combat, and has proven it to be useful hundreds of times. She also makes use of assorted gadgetry and devices and is skilled in their usage if not their assembly, but when the chips are down, it is her fists that do the actual fighting. She is, despite her slim frame, strong enough to break jaws with her punches and nearly killed several henchmen during her first missions, events which caused her to hold back in the future unless she knew a target could take it or was only a robot. It should be noted that while she doesn't use projectile weaponry such as rifles or pistols, she's quite capable with them and GJ has seen her in ranges before with a very high accuracy, typically using it to accurately use her grappling hook rather than to hit an opponent. Regardless, she's a dangerous opponent, and while she can be delayed on a fairly reliable basis, actually taking her down has, for now, been proven impossible to do short of a few who can keep up to her. She also shows considerable durability, having taken plasma strikes without armor with little issue once she adapted. She also possesses consistent endurance that can outpace most villains, and is determined to possibly be the kind of woman seen for long-drawn battles, but until she participates in one, we have no way of knowing._

_- She is also an extremely effective infiltrator, being capable of infiltrating most defensive nets and causing untold havoc, having a record longer than most commando squads in such. Due to recent GJ Demolitions training courses, she's fully proficient in the use of military grade explosive devices ranging from custom-made (non-lethal) sonic mines from Wade Load (rarely used) to wiring together dynamite all the way to C4 charges. However, she has never used proper detonators on any regular basis, the strongest she ever used in a mission being Mister Load's sonic mines, which she retired from use due to a lack of usefulness outside of opening holes in weaker walls._

_Weaknesses__: _

_-It has been concluded that her only real weakness would be psychological warfare, which she can take reasonably well, but has been noted to be used effectively in the past, but not in a military standing, but more school-based rivalry, often playing off of her usually suppressed arrogance and ego. She also seems to have an unusual soft spot, one typical of most teenage girls: boys. Weaponizing of this kind against her has been attempted and confirmed effective by the efforts of Doctor Drakken (see file STD-06), but with a stable relationship with Ron Stoppable having been formed, this is by far a closed avenue. Psychological Analysis by GJ operatives indicates that she's stable but has an unusually cheerful mindset for her line of work, even in the face of danger, and has an assertive Type A personality. It is also noted that she can be fooled by appearances, as noted to her reactions to one Felix Renton when he moved into Middleton with his mother, which shows an unusual side to her personality. Targeting her allies or friends is also very effective as it has been noted to cause her to forget some semblances of common sense, but will cause her to drop her typical control to prevent her from hitting hard enough to kill someone. Flustering her is also effective due to her Type A personality, but has proven difficult to weaponize due to her excellent combat ability generally allowing her to avoid such._

_- It is also noted that while proficient at undercover operations for a short term, she lacks the mindset to properly be undercover in the long term, and thus would only have limited usefulness in undercover missions lasting longer than approximately a day in length. Combined with her fame, she is less covert than would be desirable, but she's capable of seek-and-destroy based covert operations despite her fame._

_- She also has a distinct aversion to killing. While this is not a problem in the slightest and shows respectable moral character, it can be a problem when she holds back just how much damage she can do and limits her effectiveness against targets requiring explosive power to break through. It has been suggested that this was from psychological trauma of nearly killing WWEE agents during her early missions, but no signs of any mental trauma from the events has been shown. GJ psychoanalysts state that this aversion seems to be deep set, and changing it would have drastic, possibly catastrophic, effects on her character. Considering the fact that she has been indirectly and unknowingly responsible for the deaths of, at the time of this report update, twenty-nine henchmen. Causes of death are indirectly at her hand as they were the effects of destroying villainous lairs. Due to worries of psychoanalysts within the organization, GJ has not allowed such information to slip into reliable news sources._

_- Other than these psychological weaknesses, she is no super, and thus lacks powers to do some things, but this means it's impossible to disrupt her combat abilities through this avenue. Conventional methods can work, but they'll take time to take effect or even just hit. Large numbers is also a good option, but there will be considerable cost, ranging from bruises to broken bones and all the way up to sterilized... dignity. Team Impossible (see file MHV-09) also revealed that by targeting her contacts, her rides, is a very effective method of nullifying her as a global presence. However, due to gaining her own car, the "Sloth" (heavily modified, see file IMP-09 for details), this method will be far less reliable, and only keeps her from remote areas._

_Conclusions:_

_- Kim Possible is indeed humanity's best hope against any meta-human or superpowered incidents, and her career as she grows into adulthood will be carefully monitored. Should pressure mount to be too much, GJ must be on stand-by to ensure any fallout would be minimized. GJ cannot rely on her, however, due to her status as a freelancer. She would be a fine recruitment option, but it is questioned how she will be able to take military discipline as she's experienced already and lacks such. Some have also suggested that she will move towards leadership roles in the global community; considering her reputation, such would be easily possible, but it is noted that she doesn't seem to have any political aspirations and seems to be content to let politicians battle it out. Steps, regardless of her heroics, must be taken to compensate for her being unavailable to answer a call. Although she is definitely a clear cut above the average human and has gone hand-to-hand with genetically enhanced henchmen and superpowered foes, __**she is only human**__._


	6. Chapter 6: Safeguarded Cryptic

_"You know what always gets me? The reactions I get from supers when I'm beating them. "How is this possible, you don't have any powers!" Honestly, it doesn't take powers to fight for what's right; it just takes dedication, skill, and just the willingness to risk life and limb for it. I think what happened at Go City really helped illustrate that point; sure, Shieldbash and Team Go did a lot, but a lot of the work was really on GCPD SWAT's shoulders, and they went above the call. I didn't like what that 'Prophet' fellow had to say, though... that was something I should of paid more attention to, I think."_

- Kim, reflecting on _Operation Safeguard_ in Go City, as recorded in her _Liber Memoriarum_

_"You know, I should of seen something coming when Shego appeared in Satsuma all of a sudden, just _happening_ to have knowledge of the same ancient hidey-hold of an seemingly omnipotent council of freakin' unhelpful cryptic vagueness. But I didn't; but if she hadn't helped, I don't think I would of gotten through the defenses there... though her presence may of been what set off the defenses _in the first place_. Guess I'll never know now, since 'Time Travel' is apparently a dead concept... I really don't want to think of the disturbing concepts involved with erasing time travel somehow... its way too complex."_

- Ron, reflecting on his team up with Shego in Satsuma, as recorded in his _Liber Memoriarum_

**Chapter 6: Safeguarded Cryptic**

**July 17th, 2007**

**Possible Residence**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim glanced around the table as she ate breakfast with her family, it was quiet this morning, and she liked it that way, a chance to relax before anything more came in. The scar from the gunshots that grazed her was still there, but mostly healed.

Her father finally put down his fork, and said, "Kimmie, there's something the science center's having trouble with, they wanted me to ask you if you'd help."

"What is it?" Kim asked, frowning as she took a bite.

"The science center is trying to reestablish some of the satellites that got knocked down during graduation, but we're missing a few key elements and parts; mostly palladium, some complex pumps, and a quantum drive. The good news is that the science center in Go City has enough."

Kim frowned, "So they need someone to drive out there and get some? I dunno, that sounds like something they don't need help with, you guys have real good transport."

Her father sighed, "Ever since the attack, all our trucks have been getting attacked, a lot of them looted bare, even with those PBD guys helping escort them, some sort of street gang near Go City that's gotten brazen and set up shop or something. They think you'd have a better time getting through. Order's been placed; they just need someone to pick it up. Should fit in the Sloth's trunk easily."

Kim nodded, understanding. " Road side truck busters? No big. When do you want me to head out?"

"When you're ready."

She nodded, "I'll call Wade first, I want him with me, just in case there's some tech stuff I miss."

The Tweebs looked at each other, then Jim said, "Hey Kim, we've been thinking..."

"Scares me more than supervillains," her mother said with a sly smirk, the Tweebs catching the joke and grinning widely.

Tim continued, "With all these crazies around..."

"... you need something a bit better than those wall-busters we set up."

"Up for some actual defense on the Sloth?"

Kim frowned, "Define 'defense'."

The Tweebs looked at each other, and said simultaneously, "Experimental plasma accelerator focusing **L**ight **A**mplification by **S**imulated **E**mission of **R**adiation."

"Which is... wait, you want to put _lasers_ on the Sloth?" Kim asked, blindsided, "As in, _burn anyone hit?_"

"Blue lasers."

Kim just applied her hand to her face; a genuine _face palm_.

XX

**Southern Boston, Massachusetts**

Jane Ribbon grabbed her baseball bat and hat, "Gotta meet John at Burger King; game later today."

"Just be home quick, Jane!" her mother answered, "Your father's bringing dinner!"

"Got it mom!" she said, knowing her father must of driven off to a nearby woods to hunt, and left the dingy brown house; it didn't help that those stupid walkers had to drop _right in Boston_. She hated it, and was bitter. A young woman with brown hair and fair skin with occasional marks, she hated how things had just gone to worse for her senior year. The place was even said to be toxic after a while, getting her no end of remarks from local bullies, teasing her with lines like "_Ooooh! Careful, she'll glow! RadTech wasn't careful around her_!"

She growled as she squeezed the baseball bat tightly, and walked down the sidewalks that were so cracked like the streets they might as well of been in a straw dystopia. A police car drove by, two officers inside looking roughed by recent events. Gunfights and brawls were becoming more common over increasingly _stupid_ things like indoor plumbing... _What the hell, you idiots, just pay the damn bill and get it fixed..._ she thought, huffing.

Taking a turn at the end of the street, she walked into the Burger King where her friend, John, was waiting. He was an African American with short black hair, and he nodded to her saddly, "Jane! Coach said the game was cancelled."

"What?" she asked, disbelieving, "Why?"

"Cost, apparently, no umpire is going to show, apparently the association ditched. Utter bullshit, man..."

She growled loudly, wanting to punch somebody out. Suddenly, a pick up with a dozen gangsters in black and brown showed up, and they marched in... all of them carrying pistols, baseball bats, or some other form of weapon on hand; one had a rifle. She got out of the way as they ordered food from the counter, and left...

She sat with John, who had gotten her a soda and a small fries; she forked him a pair of dollars to help cover.

The sat there silently, keeping an eye on the gangsters, and they, one by one, left for the large pickup, somehow managing to cram in...

Suddenly, a pair of them collapsed out of the pickup, bleeding, and a bullet ricocheted off the metal bar, and another one whizzed by, nearly hitting her, but deflected off of _something_ nearby and hitting the ceiling. The few people in the restaurant screamed, the counter monkey dialing 911.

"What's going on?" She shouted, hitting the floor, and saw a group of gangsters belonging to an opposing gang coming out. _Fucking gangsters, they had to start causing problems! What's gotten into those meth addicts?  
_Suddenly, two of the black and brown gangsters rushed for the restaurant as the other gangsters, clad in white and grey, moved up to new cover to stay in range. She ran for it, only to find the side door out locked...

"John, you still good with locks?"

"Not from the inside!" he answered, ducking as a shotgun blast blew the window they had sat at apart, "and I left my pick at home!"

"Great..." she said, then gestured behind the trash cans, the best thing they'd have for cover...

Suddenly, she felt something hit her, and grunted, crawling on...

"Uh, Jane..."

"What?" She asked.

"A bullet just ricocheted off your back."

"What?" she glanced behind... indeed, there _was_ a new rip back there and she figured it was bruising... suddenly, one of the brown-and-black color wearing gangsters ran over and grabbed her by the neck.

"Hey, let... me... go!" she muttered, struggling. The gangster held a pistol to her ear, and said, "_If you don't want this local brat dead, you let me go_!"

"Hold it there, pal!" shouted one who seemed to be a leader of the white-and-grey gangsters, "You don't get a pass from us! We can pick you off and not hit her!"

She was forcibly moved forward, she was terrified, praying to god almighty that the gangsters didn't fire... but she knew she was likely going to die either way now, and just hoped it'd be over soon.

"I'm warning you, meth addicts!"

"Shut up, crack addict!" The leader opened fire with his pistol, and she braced herself for the worst. She felt something hit her stomach, and knew she was dying now, several more bullets sounded off, and she felt similar pinpricks... _Funny,_ she thought as she was dropped to the ground roughly, banging her head on the pavement, _I would of thought it'd hurt a helluva lot more..._

She opened her eyes, and noticed her chest, while it had rips, didn't have any blood... but there were stains where the shirt wasn't even torn...

"What the heck was THAT?" shouted one of the gangsters.

"Did bullets just ricochet off of her?"

"Aw _shit_... she's a super!"

"Calm down you pinpricks!" the leader shouted, suddenly, sirens were heard, and police officers showed up. She crawled away, and saw the cops drawing pistols as the gangsters opened fire, getting into cover quickly, and taking down the flanked gangsters who had at least three cops on both sides, the half-dozen gangsters didn't stand a chance, some hurt, but most caught in the open. She couldn't believe it... _did God answer me? What the heck was that..._ John was standing at the window now, jaw dropped.

XX

**12 Noon, Local Time**

**Open Road**

**Somewhere in southern Nebraska**

Kim nodded to Wade, "So, are these 'blue lasers' the Tweebs want to put on lethal or not?"

"You ever see GI Joe?"

"Nope. Fam didn't have cable when it was on, by the time we got it, I'd outgrown it."

"TV Tropes?"

"Nope."

"Well, in a nut shell, _yes_, they're non lethal. Suppose I could go into some techno-babble about how they work, but suffice it to say they won't kill anyone."

"I'd rather not risk it," she decided, "Otherwise I'd carry a hand gun."

"You do pack the EMS," Wade pointed out as he gestured to her backpack, where a new clip of EMS rounds had been put for future use. "And besides, with some of these gangsters, you're gonna need it eventually."

Kim shook her head, "I'm not a _combat_ gun user, they're so... wrong to use one someone."

"Like kicking them in the groin, beating them into a bloodied pulp, and throwing them off of catwalks that would give OSHA a heart attack?"

She paused, then added, "Alright, good point." She turned the car as a bend in the road came, "But Wade, shooting someone outright just... I dunno, it feels wrong. Like saying 'No, I'm not going to give you a chance for a fair trial, I'm just going to go arbitrary with the law'. You know what I mean?"

"I think so. You think that using a gun basically means you're going a more serious level of vigilante: killing."

"Heroes need to have high standards, like what the police use. General Malta's correct, they need restrictions on supers, even those working as heroes, but I don't see anything wrong with basic restrictions a lot of heroes adhere to anyways. Right?"

Wade shrugged, "That's for the politicians, frankly. Speaking of Malta, he's interested in some of the tech you brought back from the Dementor base."

"Really?" she asked, "Why doesn't he just ask Doc Director? She's his superior officer, being in charge of GJ and all."

"I dunno." Wade answered honestly as they hit a bumpy part of the road that had been totaled and wrecked, a few dozen M1A1 Abrams tanks lying destroyed nearby, wrecked during the Graduation Attack, the road a victim of the crossfire as they bumped along the potholed road.

"I just have a funny feeling; we don't see PBD and GJ in tandem too often, even though they're the same organization under the UN."

"Maybe they just have different responsibilities? GJ always hit me as being the aggressive shield while PBD was more R&D and law enforcement."

Kim shrugged, "Guess we can ask Malta sometime, or maybe the guy in Go City, what's his name again?"

"Commander Sarah C. Carter."

Kim nodded, noting the mistake she made, "Oops. What's her sitch?"

"Nothing unusual, talented PBD officer who took out a super or two post alien invasion; got a promotion to commander when they needed a new PBD commander in the Go City Firebase. It's really small though, Go City Police Department's SWAT division expanded pretty heftily; they leave PBD as a heavy hitter arm, pretty much."

"Define heavy hitter."

"Supers that Team Go has issues with, though GCPD SWAT tends to be able to help before PBD really becomes necessary. I heard the base was in case Team Go went rogue again."

"Yeah," Kim said, inhaling as she recalled the chaos that had been caused and the mess of explaining it; she was just glad that the city had a history of weirdness that made the reality plausible. "Wasn't that why GCPD expanded its SWAT division in the first place?"

"They had a surprisingly large number of officers willing to join. You're more likely to get a SWAT officer on patrol than a beat cop. Heck, the beat cops are practically the newbies of the Go City Police."

"That has to sit well with them," she remarked with a smirk, the sarcasm evident in her voice.

"You bet."

XX

**2 PM Local Time**

**Go City, Nebraska**

Kim parked next to the Go City Science Center in its parking lot, and got out, Wade with her. She'd taken Wade along since she figured he'd help with the techno-babble that'd go on and be most likely to find what the Middleton Space Center needed, and by all indications, that'd pay off. She glanced, and frowned as she saw someone in a nearby alleyway with a trash can lid for a shield and carrying some sort of aluminum bat, eying her, with another gangster in another alley, this one accompanied by a pair of overly-buff bruisers with chains around their arms in a stylistic fashion watched them closely.

"Wade... you noticing this?" Kim said, vaguely gesturing.

"Yeah," Wade answered just as vague, "Making me nervous... what'd you think?"

"My guess? Addicts or gangsters."

Wade nodded, "Meth labs have been on overdrive to take advantage of the post-graduation shock, but at least most of the new suppliers are sloppy. Both maybe?"

"Who knows," Kim said as she opened the door into the center, tapping a button on the wrist Kimmunicator to turn on the car's prototypical antitheft measure, an electric charge not unlike her shock stick. She hoped it wasn't necessary; it might not be enough to be lethal and was even milder than the shock stick, but she never knew.

Inside, Wade quickly did the techno-talk to get the stuff the space center needed, which was in a pair of marked crates. Kim grabbed the larger one as Wade took the smaller one. As they walked out, they saw that there were several more vagrants similarly armed or dressed in the alleyways, including some young women, some looking like teenagers not even out of high school, carrying shotguns. Kim was worried now as they loaded the stuff into the Sloth's trunk and tied it down.

"What'd you think, Wade?" Kim asked, "Check with Hego?"

"Oh yeah." Wade said, "Tweebs fix the aquatic capability yet?" The Sloth had been heavily damaged by the walker that dropped onto Kim's house, it took a while to fix and aquatic capability took a while to repair.

"All set and tested," Kim said as she sat in the driver's seat, "Wanna call the tower?"

Wade nodded.

XX

**Ten Minutes Later**

Kim drove up next to the island, the Sloth's aquatic capability inverting back to a land variation so she could drive up. Kim knocked on the door, and it opened, so she entered the hall way. Hego was inside, talking with a man clad in a green under suit and grey armor over it with some bulk. Hego seemed to be reprimanding him;

"Look, Shieldbash, you're talent with your powers are amazing, but you use them _too_ aggressively; you're more likely to _murder_ your opponent than stun them."

"Sometimes you have to kill," Shieldbash answered, "Especially when the criminal is holding a _shotgun_ to a hostage's head!"

Hego slammed his fist on the table, "_That's now how things are done!_"

Kim coughed into her hand, "Hego?"

He looked up, and nodded, "Ah, good, Kim. I was hoping that while you were here you could talk some sense into this 'Global Justice' agent that was sent here."

She caught a glance from Shieldbash, getting a closer look at him. He was clad in what looked to be grey exoskeleton-based set of armor, but only in fractious parts, but she couldn't be sure if it actually had value or was just a costume. It covered his torso and legs reliably, and he wore heavy combat gauntlets to protect his hands. He had a helmet looking like a standard GJ one with a full, see-through face shield of a grey color, and Kim noticed some faint yellow lines, indicating it might be a heads up display. On his left wrist was a small conical item with the base on the gauntlet itself, two side bars expanding from it, which Kim theorized was what he channeled energy through to create his likely titular shield. At the moment, however, the face shield was slid up over the helmet, showing him to have a clean beard of a dark brown color.

"What sense do you want me to talk into him?"

"Using too much power that you could _kill_ an opponent, when such goes clearly against all heroic principles?"

Kim twitched her lip; she never told Hego how she'd nearly killed his sister, Shego, after the Lil Diablo incident, in anger about having her life infiltrated by Erik, AKA Synthodrone #901. And she never intended to; it still chilled her how nearly she lost it completely when that happened.

"Well..." she said, "You do need to check your power, if you use too much, you're sort of counteracting your purpose to protect lives."

"But this Vandal was holding a man at _shotgun point_."

"And I'm not saying you weren't wrong hitting him, in fact, I'd of done the same."

Hego gasped, "What?"

"Look, when it's a choice between a villain's life and an innocent's, I'd save the innocent, but once the innocent's safe, I'd try to save the villain... so he or she can be taken to court."

Hego frowned, then nodded slightly, "I still think that's a betrayal of our ideals, but... I think I can see what you mean. Maybe."

Shieldbash was more understanding; "Fair enough, Miss Possible. To each our own MO, until such a time we have a universal one for all heroes. I'll stick to the one assigned by my superiors in Global Justice."

"Now, to why I was here... Hego, I saw a bunch of people in the alleys, using trash can lids for shields, all sorts of crude armor from various road stuff and homemades."

Hego nodded, starting to talk, when suddenly, the Mayor appeared on the giant view screen that, according to Wade, _still_ didn't have removal from Aviarius' lair.

"_We got ourselves a shituation, Hego,_" the Mayor said with is usual spittle-filled speech; "_Sthem Vandals are preparing to cause a lot of problems; too many."_

"You don't mean..." Hego said, fear in his voice, catching Kim off guard.

"_Yes, Hego. Safeguard is going into effect."_

Hego nodded, taking a suddenly serious tone, "I understand. I'll rally the rest of Team Go, and we'll meet this directly."

The Mayor disappeared from the view screen.

"OK, missing something here." Kim said, leaning on the table.

"We have a short time to talk, so what do you need to know?" Hego asked in a grave tone.

"Who're these 'Vandal' guys, and what's Safeguard?"

"In order," Hego said, tapping on the central console, a hologram appeared of various hoodlums, but all had a universal symbol: A pitchfork, a torch, and a sword, all crossed, the symbol briefly dominating the central hologram. "The Vandals are a group of hoodlums that have constantly infected the innocent young of Go City, luring them with vices such as drugs, sex, alcohol, and offering a good time in contrast to the hard but honest work of the rest of the city. They call themselves the Vandals, after a tribe that helped sack the ancient Roman Empire."

Kim nodded, sounded standard for a gang to her with a storm of cliché thrown in.

"Unfortunately, some of them have discovered an experimental drug that has given some... superpowers, tragically."

"What?" Kim asked, blindsided totally, "Did you just say _superpowered drug addicts?_"

"Not just drugs, but addicted to destruction. They are a group of ragers who seek to cause random destruction. Pillaging and burning." Hego grimly shook his head, "The last time they struck in force, it took all our valiant and still learning efforts to halt them, but they've remained a problem." As he talked, images of the Vandals in action were played, recordings of their lairs in abandoned warehouses, in combat against GCPD SWAT, and Shego blasting one with some sort of ice powers over a fire hydrant, with flashed frozen as he impacted it.

"How come they weren't stamped out way back when?" Kim asked, frowning, "Go City has some pretty advanced stuff around here, and I'm from _Middleton_."

"They hid, and remained low profile. Only after the foul alien attack did they begin to multiply exponentially as chaos increased and the law broke down. They have taken a new, fatalistic edge, seeking to live wild as long as they could before they died in what they call a 'crapsack world'."

"Not unlike those Rapture extremists, just switch in wildness for zealotry," Kim said, frowning as she recalled a small group of 'missionaries' from a crazed cult belonging to what she considered to be utter stupidity, who were trying to 'prepare' for whatever their deranged leaders said was coming, "They give sane, honest missionaries a bad name."

Hego ignored her, though, "The Vandals have many leaders, leading small hordes. We'll have to defeat all of them, but they lead their hordes from the front, so that won't require dedicated search. We did determine one thing; they're lead as a whole by one who calls himself _'Prophet John_'_,_" he tapped a key, and brought an image of an almost serene, meditating man, "He is said to have superpowers associated with time, but we haven't seen such manifest in our battles with him. He, unlike many of his followers, is not an addict, drug dealer, or an indulger of carnal desires. We suspect he created the Vandals for another purpose than what seems to be their current course of destruction."

"Right..." Kim said with a long, disbelieving tone that Shieldbash seemed to find mildly amusing, "So what's this dude's actual fighting ability?"

"Considerable, he is an accomplished martial artist, a black belt, and rumor has it his powers allow the weakening of powers. All I know is that my super strength is weaker than usual when I hit at him. We only battled him once, but he weakened all our powers to the point where we nearly didn't have them. Be careful when facing him."

"No problem," Kim said with a grin, the hologram switching to more pictures of the Vandals in action against Team Go and local police, "Don't have any powers."

"Maybe, but the Vandals always are on the market for anti-hero guns, especially from villainous organizations like HenchCo or other vile organizations."

"Like WWEE?" Shieldbash suggested as an image of a Vandal dealing with a WWEE agent was shown. "Can't believe you never investigated _that_ image!"

Hego frowned, "WWEE? Is that an acronym?"

"World Wide Evil Empire, think an evil counterpart to GJ, straight out of James Bond," Kim quickly answered, "If they're involved, expect them to pack some _slightly_ better gear."

Hego nodded, "To answer your other question, Safeguard is an operation in which we lock down all city districts to minimize the spread of destruction. SWAT shall begin sweeps and hold the lockdown barriers, and will ping us when Vandals or other criminals are sighted."

Wade nodded, "Hook me into whatever you're using for battlefield control. Kim, best you grab your jetpack, you need the mobility."

"I left it at home," Kim answered, wishing she'd brought it now, "I have my rocket rollerblades, though."

"I actually packed your jetpack, just in case." Wade said, smiling.

"You rock, Wade!"

"Good," Hego said, "The others of Team Go will meet us back at the city, Miss Possible; I'll see you in the city. We have vandalism to clean up."

XXX

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron, having woken up two hours ago, parried the strike from his opponent, the two of them using wooden swords rather than staves. Sensei was still looking up information on the crystal he'd brought back, and it was worrying him.

His idle thoughts were shoved aside as he got hit in the head with the butt end of his opponent's wooden sword, knocking him back. He responded, unleashing a reasonably proficient flurry of blows, and felt his magic coming, tentatively. He was getting a better hang, but still relied on fighting or other trauma to get his connection going.

"Stop," said the instructor after a while, and the two stopped, bowing to each other before going their separate ways. Ron grabbed the towel that had been left and wiped the sweat from his face, glancing up as the sword instructor walked forward. Ron didn't know much about him, and he never talked outside of his duties. _Probably because he's doing his job,_ he figured.

"Sensei wishes to speak to you, Stoppable-san, and is awaiting you in the library."

Ron nodded, bowing politely, and walked over, Rufus hopping into his pocket. As he entered, he saw Sensei sitting at a low desk.

"Come in, Stoppable-san," Sensei said gravely, "I have determined, at last, what we're looking at."

Ron sat next to him, "What is it?" He picked up the crystal, still swimming with the red, blue, and green energy inside.

"It is a _crystal of prophecy_, when its name is translated to English. They originated in a small enclave several thousand years ago, and have been used as storage devices for prophecies since. Unfortunately, even from what you've told me of your visions, we cannot learn more from it."

Ron nodded, "Want me to call Kim so we can get it to a diviner or prophet or some such? She'd be the best escort if I can't go."

"No," Sensei said, "Not diviners, per se."

"Huh?"

Sensei stood up, and gestured him to follow, explaining. Ron took the crystal and the scroll Sensei was reading with him, "You see, in Satsuma, in the third century, there was a sect known as the _Chronomancers of Satsuma_, but they vanished shortly after."

Ron nodded, "What'd they do?"

"They were part of a larger network that, according to myth and legend, oversaw artifacts related to time, which were completed roughly around the time they disappeared, though the artifacts have never been found. The sect in Satsuma disappeared in an unknown fashion, as have all other sects of this order, but their guardian spirits live there still, preserving knowledge associated with prophecy and time."

As they entered the main living quarters, Ron had to ask, "You want me to bring the crystal there?"

"Correct. You must seek their aid, and their knowledge of the crystal. Only then will we know what truly lies under the ice caverns, and the purpose behind them."

Ron nodded, "Will Yori or Hirotaka be coming with me?"

"No; they only accept those who seek knowledge and pass their challenges; alone."

_Aw man, that ranks._ He thought with a sigh, "Alright, leave right away?"

"Indeed; we have transport waiting for you, it will drop you off nearby. Be wary, Stoppable-san, the wind blows ill."

He nodded, "Count on me."

"One more thing; you must remember this as you learn more about the prophecy stored within this crystal: A fool completely ignores prophecy and divination's warnings, but it is the greater fool who does not accept that the future is _always in motion_."

XX

**Go City, Nebraska**

"Whoohooo!" shouted a gangster, igniting fire from his hands as his powers activated, "Watch this!" he created and threw a fireball into the nearby building, causing windows to blow out and civilians still trying to get to shelter to run and scream in fear.

"Jeez mate, save some for us will you?" asked a Slammer, the Vandal's basic inductees and the bulk of their membership, armed with makeshift clubs and trash-can made armor. A few sported shotguns, but that wasn't too common.

"Plenty of city to go around!"

Suddenly, a whoosh was heard, and the gangsters looked up in fear…

Kim Possible turned her jetpack off, somersaulting forward as she landed on her feet, the jetpack's wings retracting and the helmet pulled off and back into its place, but the headset remained on; she and the other heroes were mobile support, so needed easy communication. "You know, there's a law against vandalism in this state too." she said to the gangsters, entering a combat stance.

The gangsters looked at each other, then laughed. "You're one woman! You think to fight us?" the leader with fire powers shouted, creating a ring of fire and sending it in a fancy pattern to taunt her.

"I _can_ do anything."

"And _any__**one**_**!** GET HER!"

The slammers of the gang charged, bats and homemade shields at the ready. One without a shield swiped at her, but she moved forward and shoved him backwards, sending him into the lamppost head-first. A second one with a shield attacked, but she slid in front of his shield, got behind him, and grabbed him by the suspenders, hurling him into a female slammer charging with a large pipe, knocking her back and leaving her in a pig pile with the others. The leader growled, and hurled fireballs at her, but she dodged, swerving away from the initial ones and leaping over the larger one sent later. She landed on her feet, and taunted, "Nice aim!"

"_I don't need to aim!_" he responded, gesturing behind her; the building had small fires on it that were steadily growing, and Kim grimaced. _Damned if I do, damned if I don't,_ she decided as she heard a fire truck on the way, escorted by a GCPD SWAT armored car, with windows for SWAT officers to fight from if a Vandal tried hit and run. She rushed the superpowered Vandal, and hit him in the gut, as he didn't wear any armor, just street clothes and a plastic pauldron on his left arm. A pair of punches and an uppercut knocked him back, and she grabbed him by the shirt, and hurled him into the ground on his back, leaving him to remain there, disoriented and dazed.

The SWAT armored car arrived and two SWAT soldiers came out, cuffing the downed Vandals and throwing them into a nearby paddy wagon that had accompanied the group.

"We'll clean up here!" shouted the SWAT sergeant, "We got Vandals causing mayhem in North Street!"

"Got it," she said, turning on her rollerblades and checking the map Wade had provided her on her wrist Kimmunicator; a red blinking dot showed where the Vandals were causing mayhem.

She put the helmet back on, and she skated down the streets. A Vandal got in the way, but she barreled into him and knocked him away, leaving him on the street to cry in pain.

She leapt over a roadblock, a slab of concrete moved by the Vandals, seeing their heavier bruisers, buff muscle men with chains decoratively added to their arms who were ripping apart various things, high on whatever drugs they took. Kim leapt at the first one, jump-kicking him in the face as he turned to attack her, then she swept his legs, knocking him to the floor.

She back flipped as a Vandal with a shotgun fired, missing her, the blast hitting a car and shredding the windows, setting the alarm off. Kim drew her shock stick and zapped the shotgun wielding Vandal before she could pump another round, causing the Vandal to drop the shotgun (which discharged into the ground), and collapse in spasms. Kim looked to the left as a pair of slammers charged her, and she sidestepped them altogether, their angle of attack leading them straight into each other, causing them to collide. She kicked the closer one in the back, knocking the two to the street.

_"Miss Possible, this is Shieldbash, I just got a sighting of the villain known as Motor Ed."_

"What's squirrel head doing here?" Kim asked into the headset as she grabbed a slammer and hurled him over her head and into a Vandal demolitions expert with Molotov Cocktails, causing him to drop it somewhat harmlessly into the street and get knocked cold by the impact of the street.

"_Unknown, but he's brought in a couple monster trucks; they're near the warehouse district."_

Kim checked her map; she'd have to jet into the sky to get there anytime soon. Team Go had gathered in full and was fighting at the town hall to stop several melee supers, with mild things like partial super strength and flaming fists, from destroying it and hurting the civil workers within.

"On my way," she said as SWAT officers came up behind her and with riot shields and batons beat down the squad of slammers that had come to try and beat _her_ down. She ignited her jetpack, her helmet back on, and soared into the sky as the SWAT officers started beating down the gangsters.

She took a glance down as she jetted over to the warehouse district; she saw a colored explosion from the streets near the city hall as Hego likely over-killed something with his super strength, likely a Vandal horde leader with defensive powers. She heard a whoosh, and glanced behind her; a Vandal had a _jet pack_ and was chasing her. A HenchCo standard jetpack, at that.

"Oh just what I needed..." Kim muttered as she turned, hovering as the extremely young looking Vandal charged at her; he couldn't be any older than her, based on how slim he was. She pulled her fist back, and punched, impacting the man's exposed shoulder as she simultaneously moved out of the way, letting the Vandal spiral out of control until he turned, grunting with clear inexperience.

"Come on kid," she taunted, "I've been jet packin' since I was fourteen!"

"You're... only... eighteen!" he retorted.

"That's beside the point," she answered as she jetted at him, grabbing his leg and staying under him to avoid exhaust from his jetpack, the two spiraling down since she'd shut her jetpack off. He screamed, struggling, and Kim grinned, "Bye!" She let go and free fell, reigniting her jetpack and taking off as the other man realized he'd just fallen right next to a bridge between a taller skyscraper and a smaller one, and collided into it, spiraling up and landing along the bridge, dazed and out. She continued to the warehouse district, and could make out Shieldbash blocking one of Motor Ed's monster trucks with black-colored energy blasts. She shut off the jetpack, sailing down silently, and readied to ignite one last boost to keep her from having a lethal landing.

XX

**Satsuma, Japan**

Shego leapt off of her hover board, hiding it and setting out on foot, checking the information. _Right, natural defenses, booby traps, the usual... plus a giant gorilla golem with a sword that can cut through a German-made main battle tank. Shouldn't be that tough._ She looked around; it was peaceful in this area of southern Japan. She grabbed her binoculars and looked towards the ruins... peaceful and seemingly uninhabited.

_Looks can be deceiving._ she remembered, and kept looking... thinking she saw someone, but couldn't find whoever it was.

XX

Ron tightly gripped the crystal as he inserted it into a bridge that would lead him to a shortcut, the crystal being accepted, and coming back out, a small bridge expanding over a rushing river. He crossed it quickly, and the bridge retracted once he was across. He looked ahead; not much farther to go.

"Man, I just wish they could of dropped us off closer," he said to Rufus as he put the crystal back with him. Rufus shrugged. He followed the trail, and found himself at a gate, adorned with runes he didn't recognize. He glanced around, and walked up, and knocked. He glanced behind him at the two buildings that flanked the passage, and suddenly, he heard stomping...

_Aw crud..._ he thought, and saw a half dozen gorilla golems about eight feet tall marched out, bearing large stone swords.

"What did I do?" Ron asked desperately, grabbing for the crystal "I'm just here for some advice!"

One of the golems roared, and charged. Ron screamed and ducked, then slid away. "Hey, hey, I'm not here to cause problems!" He said crossly, pointing a finger at the golem as if he was a teacher scolding a student, "I'm here to stop them!"

The golem just roared and charged as an answer. He barely leapt clear, then muttered, "Ugh, hope they don't want me to cover these..." With that, he focused, reaching for magic... and he _felt it_. Before he lost concentration, he attacked the golem, a charged punch with a simian echo and blue glow around him staggering the golem and leaving a nice crater in it. Before the magic faded, he grabbed it with both hands and threw it at another golem, causing the two to collapse into rubble as Ron used the superhuman strength afforded by his magic.

The remaining four golems growled at him, blocking his escape. He eyed them, then taunted with his fingers, "Monkey Kung Fu with mystic power here; _bring it_."

Two golems charged him, the other two hanging back. The first one swung at him, and he ducked the swipe, reaching for magic again and he grasped it, "Booyah!" He shouted as he charged his kick to the groin-area of the golem, which winced in pain, howling pitifully before collapsing and crumbling into a pile of pitifully pathetic plaster.

"Wow, that worked?" Ron asked in sheer disbelief before nearly losing his neck as the other golem attacking him swiped at his neck, which he barely avoided thanks to leaping. He still had his grasp on magic, and leapt onto the golem's head, and saw another golem charging with its sword. "Uh oh!" he leapt off, and the other golem's sword came down onto the head of its friend. The last golem, however, didn't move to replace the fallen one, seeming distracted with something else. Ron ducked as the second-to-last golem swung at him, and then rolled away as several flurries of swings came after him, nearly hitting him. He called on magic again, barely getting the grasp this time, then struck with an uppercut, his fist hurting despite the magical charge he'd put behind it, and sent the golem into the air. He turned to the last one, only to see green blasts rip it apart and a woman with green glowing hands swipe a few more times, then punch a hole into the golem, which collapsed, and fell apart as it hit the ground.

"Oh look," she said as she looked at him, "the sidekick. You thought you'd be able to handle this?"

"_Shego!_" Ron exclaimed, surprised, "What're you doing here?"

"Same reason you are, probably."

"Wait, you have a crystal with some crazy prophecy possibly concerning Kim?" He ignored the possible pun, "There's a _huuuuugggee_ coincidence."

"Uh, no," Shego said, "I was looking for something else on some "Generalissimo" fella. Wait, prophecy? What junk's that?"

"That's what I wanna know." He looked at the door, he didn't trust Shego, but he suspected he might need her help now that the defenses were on. "Bad news; I don't think we're going to be able to get in. It's locked against singular intruders."

"We're two," Shego said, "Bet we can get through them. Between your monkey mojo and my powers, nothing's gonna stop us."

"Yeah, I can't go all Graduation on them yet. Kinda weird, frankly." Ron answered, shrugging, "If I could, well..."

"God mod sue? Yeah, heard that complaint against Kimmie in the slammer; pfft, kids, didn't have the guts to really try and fight her."

Ron shrugged, "Well, first step, getting inside."

Shego glanced at the two buildings, "You check that one, and I'll check this one."

"Alright."

Ron entered the left one, and found a platform; "Hmmm..." he stepped on it, and it lit up. "Hey, Shego! Platform on your side?"

"Yeah!" she shouted back, stepping onto it, it lit up too.

"Booyah! Score one for the Ron-dawg!" he shouted as he watched the door open, and jogged over to enter, Shego right behind him.

"Don't get cock... whoa, how'd that fit in here?" Shego said, dropping her jaw. They were in an extremely large entry hall, which was leading inside to an even larger room which looked like a huge arena, a good distance down...

As they walked forward, Ron frowned, unable to shake a feeling of dread, "I don't like it, feels too trapish..."

"That a word?" Shego responded as she lit her plasma as a light source, the pair descending down the hall.

"No."

They entered an arena-like area, a huge room that had no obstacles... and dropped their jaws as they saw a _humongous_ golem at least fifty feet tall. It seemed to be clad in a stone variation of a Samurai's armor, and its sword was easily as long as it, and was at least several meters wide and a few feet thick. The golem itself was shaped like a gorilla. Ron dropped his jaw, stunned that _no one_ noticed this thing before. "That would be _so__** cool**_," he slowly said in shock, "If it wasn't gonna hurt us…"

"Whoa..." Shego said as she looked up at it, "This... this may be a problem..."

XX

**Go City, Nebraska**

Kim landed on the back of a green monster truck, seeing one of Motor Ed's goons driving. "Aw man! It's Possible! Get 'er Bob!" said the short one to the thin and wiry one next to him with glasses, who grabbed a crowbar and came out onto the back of the truck.

Kim waited as he leapt at her, then as he came down, she rolled back, getting her feet onto his chest, and pushed him off, sending him out of the truck with a shout of horror and a thud as he hit pavement. She rolled all the way onto her feet, and leapt up, grabbing the crossbeam above the driver's compartment, and swung down, kicking the driver out of the truck with a shout. She grabbed the wheel and hit the brakes, forcing the truck to stop. She jammed the emergency breaks and looked for something important to remove... _Keys work_, she decided, yanking them out and hurling them into a large pile of crates as she leapt out to confront a pair of motorcycle mounted goons, who skidded to a halt, got off, and charged her.

She grinned, and struck the first one in the gut swiftly, following with an uppercut from her other hand as he tried to recover, knocking him back. The second goon charged her, and she leapt up to a convenient pole sticking out from the warehouse they were next too, grabbing it and swinging a full 360 degrees, then let go as she began to swing up again, propelling herself into the next minion and hitting him, practically riding him as he went flying backwards. She landed on her feet, and saw Shieldbash knocking away a pair of Motor Ed's goons with his energy shield, hurling them into the air. He decked the third one that followed, knocking the man across the pavement with a power-enhanced punch.

"Nice one," Kim said as she grabbed the last of Ed's hapless henchmen and hurled him away by his suspenders.

"Thanks, Miss Possible! Better than Will Du!"

"I can buy that. Seriously though, where's mullet boy?"

"Right here, Red!" shouted someone behind her, "_SERIOUSLY_!"

She turned around, Motor Ed was in a huge monster truck with a giant laser cannon. She leapt away as the cannon fired, and she gasped as she thought for a second Shieldbash had been obliterated as Ed laughed...

But as the smoke cleared, she saw Shieldbash there, taking cover behind his shield which glowed brighter than normal... and dissipated as the GJ super panted, almost collapsing. Kim saw Ed laugh and charge another shot, and she acted.

Grabbing her EMS from its holster, she took a quick-draw shot at the cannon, and sprinted forward, putting her EMS away a second after firing, and with a handspring, launched herself up to the truck's driver's compartment, and held on by the door handle. The cannon sounded off like an explosion, causing her to shut her eyes to avoid being blinded as Ed gave a disappointed cry. She opened the door and leapt in, winding up over Motor Ed as she entered the large interior.

"Aw that _ranks_ Red! Seriously!" Motor Ed answered as he scurried out of the way, "You don't screw a dude's ride!"

"You don't _blast_ people!" she answered, launching herself forward, colliding into Ed and sending him out the window, the monster truck driving into a warehouse and stopping as it crashed, smoke coming from the engine compartment. Ed flipped her off and pushed himself up as they landed. She touched down with a roll, and pushed herself up to face him. Ed charged in a fury, and Kim leapt over him, landing on his back and knocking him forward. She spun as she came down, and swept Motor Ed's legs as she landed, causing him to trip. She stood over him, and he looked up.

"Seriously, Red?" Motor Ed asked, knowing what was ahead, the look on his face priceless as he looked like his face was somewhere between a frown and a bemoaned cry of pain.

"Seriously," she mocked, before punching him in the chest, and a single well-placed nerve strike later, Edward Lipski, better known as Motor Ed, fell unconscious.

Shieldbash pushed himself up, "Thanks, Miss Possible, I dunno what I would of done if you didn't help me there."

"So not the drama."

He nodded as she saw some color returning to his shield, "Take it you power your gear with your powers?" she asked casually.

"Yeah. Freak exposure to some sort of experimental WWEE energy matrix after the alien attack, back when I was a regular GJ agent. Gave me these powers; use the shield as a defensive augmentation since I don't have any powers associated with defensive ability."

Kim nodded, "Just dodging is a good substitute, but hey, you got your tricks, I got mine. Come on, we got a city to save." She checked the map, and added, "Vandals causing mayhem at the wharf nearby, ready?"

Shieldbash smiled, and nodded, a jetpack activating on his backside, and Kim activated hers, the helmet sliding back on.

XX

"Mego, the bomb!" Hego shouted as he picked up the Vandal demolitions expert, a super who had amazing reflexes, but he'd managed to grapple him and was holding him by the scruff of his vest. They'd just knocked their way through a half-dozen Vandals to prevent the bombing of a city power station.

"Easy on the vest, cape!" the Vandal said, "It's brand new!"

"Should of considered such before crime, hellion," Hego said as he slammed him into the floor, knocking him unconscious. One of the Wego twins ran up and said, "Got Vandals runnin' in!"

Hego nodded, "Mego, you have the bomb?"

"Working on it, bub!" Mego shouted back as he was shrunk to a size suitable for getting at the red wire. Hego just went down the stairs, and joined the other Wego twin, plus the duplicates, against at least two dozen Vandal slammers trying to get in.

"Go go! Get the bomb!" shouted one of them, "And slam the heroes!"

Hego grabbed the first Vandal and, with his super strength, hurled her into her partners-in-crime, knocking an entire group down, leaving them to disentangle from the mess. The twins were busy trying to subdue a bruiser, swarming him with their clones and pulling him down, leaving the main group of henchmen for Hego alone to handle.

Or so he thought; as he punched a Vandal straight through his makeshift shield and rearranged his target's face (unintentional save for the fact he aimed for him), a half-dozen SWAT officers broke in the flank, superior equipment, training, and courage meeting the horde. Hego picked a Vandal up and hurled him towards the SWAT officers, one of which saw it and brought his baton up, hitting the Vandal and sending him down to the ground.

Hego grunted as he got hit by several bat strikes, and shook it off, and punched at his target, _breaking_ the bat that was attempted to be used in blocking him, and send the Vandal flying into the wall, leaving a man-shaped crater in it. _Glad that we have heroic insurance,_ Hego thought as he turned, beating down the next pair of Vandals who tried to take him down.

XX

Kim frowned as the two saw a WWEE mini-sub with Gemini's agents unloading crates with white markings on it while their leader talked to a large hulk of a Vandal, wearing pants, suspenders, and a pair of shoulder guards. His skin looked like it was rock hard, and he was discussing something with the WWEE agent, a few Vandals flanking him as bodyguards.

"I assure you," said the WWEE agent, with the symbol for delta on his chest as a chest insignia, "This _rima_ is of high quality, you'll get the powers from it."

"Yet you don't use it," the Vandal leader answered, and gestured, the slammers with him pulling a briefcase over.

"We save it for our customers," Delta answered, "Mister Bates."

"Hmmm. Point. I take it this is the good stuff?"

"Of course, some of our finest for our most frequent customers."

Kim frowned as she watched the transaction, and asked, "What's that 'rima' stuff? Crack?"

"Sort of; it does take the Latin name for a crack; well, a crack in a wall. Thing is, it's a different drug entirely, artificially made by WWEE, if this is any indication. It gives super powers, though, but we haven't had samples to study the effects with. Withdrawal is utter _hell_ from what we know, so we try busting the smugglers getting this stuff around ASAP. Still haven't had much luck though, the guys who made it are pros."

The transaction completed as Shieldbash explained, and Kim said, "Come on, we better move, before they get away." With that, she leapt over the crate and charged Agent Delta, who turned with only enough time to see her kick him in the chest and send him off the wharf, leaving him to try and climb up onto the dock again.

"Kim Possible? What the _HELL_ is she doing here?" shouted Mister Bates.

"You betrayed us!" shouted the WWEE agent Gamma at the same time.

"SLAM HER!" Bates shouted, and he charged, and Kim saw his superpower properly as she kicked him in the chest; he had _rock-hard_ skin. _Just great,_ she thought as a slammer charged her, only to be hurled into the shipping nearby. Shieldbash was brawling with the WWEE agents as Kim handled the Vandals. A second slammer charged her, and a third, but she kicked the second one's shield, causing him to stagger, then grabbed the third one's bat, disarming him and sending the bat into the second one's head, knocking him out. She then threw the third one into Mister Bates, causing him to stagger. A fourth slammer charged, leaping at her. Kim simply rolled onto her back, kicking him towards Shieldbash as he came down, and finished the backwards somersault on her feet. She heard a mid-air collision, and a glance back told her that Shieldbash had hurled a WWEE agent into the slammer she sent over. Shieldbash leapt into the mini-sub as Kim faced off with Bates.

"You can't hurt me, I'm the Thing on steroids!"

"And I got this far without drugs," she answered, a handspring forward carrying her at Bates as he charged. They impacted, Kim hitting the side of his face with her extended foot, causing him to stagger, but Kim fell to the ground, pain shooting up her leg from the impact. Rolling out of the way, she dodged Bates' heavy strikes as he tried to crush her, and she noticed that while he had some form of resilience, he _lacked_ an offensive ability to equal it. He charged her again, and she leapt clear, letting him hit a shipping crate, which briefly disoriented her opponent. She drew her shock stick, and flipped it on, the discharge speeding forth and zapping Bates, who shouted in pain as the electricity arced though.

"Can't be hurt, huh?" Kim asked, taking advantage of the disorientation he suffered from the shock to hit him with a couple well-placed punches to the chest, his skin much softer now that it wasn't enhanced with his powers, knocking the wind out of Bates, and she kicked him towards the end of the wharf, where Shieldbash was. He charged an energy blast, and hurled it at Bates' back, knocking him forward and _out_, literally scrapping him along the deck.

"Nice one, Possible," Shieldbash said, smiling as SWAT vans approached to lock up the WWEE agents and destroy the drugs.

XX

**Satsuma, Japan**

Shego leapt out of the way as she lost track of the sidekick, the giant stone blade coming down near her, and would be crushing her at that second if she hadn't leapt away. She charged and fired a pair of plasma blasts, hitting the golem in the chest, the hits chipping the golem, but otherwise it just _took it_. She ran towards a wall as the golem stabbed at her, leaping into the air, landing on the thick sword, and she ran up the blade as the golem pulled it out, hopping up the arm, and began hitting the golem with plasma hits. The golem suddenly shook, and she fell, barely able to get onto her feet in time. Ron had charged up with magic and hit the golem in the legs, causing the whole thing to shake.

"Bad timing, sidekick," she growled as she pushed herself up, Ron shaking his hands in pain as if he'd broken them.

She back flipped away as the golem turned and stomped, and saw it go for Ron. The sidekick was doing surprisingly good, even if he couldn't go all chunky updraft like he did when the lorwardians came kicking. She saw him dodge several stomps and a blade swipe, and then glowing up, stomping on the ground and creating a miniaturized earthquake; she couldn't feel it, but rocks from below the golem shot up in a pattern and peppered it, but that was hardly enough to slow the golem. She fired a barrage of plasma at the golem's back, aiming for the head. It turned, wincing somewhat from the barrage, and turn to face her, and roared loudly, only for a well-aimed plasma blast to shoot into its mouth and knock its head up.

Ron took the opportunity, getting below and glowing some more, a simian echo sounding off as he pounded on one of the legs... only for it to kick at him, and send him flying across the room, the naked mole rat of his flying out of the pocket with some sort of crystal. Ron slid next to her, and he pushed himself up.

"Alright, we need like, a McHenry laser grid or something," Ron said, thinking that if they had that this would be easy, "Any ideas?"

"Doesn't seem to like hits in the mouth; maybe its head is vulnerable?" Shego offered, "Look out," she added, pushing him out of the way as she leapt away from the sword coming down crashing. She charged another plasma bolt and hurled it at the golem, hitting the sword and leaving a small crater, but it was nothing more than a scratch compared to what would be needed to take this thing down. _We need like... Tanks, or a doomsday device of Drakken's on high power..._

Ron seemed to be eying something, but no glow came as he charged, and when he punched... _then_ there was a glow around his body, a simian echo accompanying the flying kick to the back knee-cap of the golem. Shego grinned, leaping over the golem's anguished attempt to smash her with its fist, and ran up the golem, using various potholes that had been made over the years from erosion to climb up onto it's back, and charged her plasma for heavy hits to the back, chipping it open strike by strike. The golem roared, and suddenly, it flexed, sending her off of the golem's back. She fell to the ground, to be caught by someone.

"Careful!" Ron shouted as he landed, having leapt to catch her.

"Yeah, thanks," she hotly responded as she got off, and looked up, "That thing's head is exposed, and my plasma hurts."

"Right... so what's the plan?"

The golem turned on them and charged, forcing them to break off again. Shego shouted over as she dodged several blows, "Keep it busy and set up for me to get up there!"

"Right, distraction!" Ron suddenly began extremely loud and _obnoxious_ karate yells, which got the golem's attention, amazingly enough. _That explains why he's always the distraction_, Shego thought as she sprinted forward, and leapt up, plasma charged, and punched it in the chin, knocking off a solid chunk. It roared at her again as she came down, and swung it's blade at her...

XXX

**Go City, Nebraska**

In the setting sun, the Mathter laughed evilly with his new crown on his cortex, "_Prepare,_ _coefficients_, for today we will _subtract_ Go City!"

"Your days of mathematical mayhem are over, Mathter!" shouted Hego as he charged, super strength ready, and barreled through a pair of the minions, and grabbed the Mathter by the scruff, and hurled him into a nearby brick wall, a _dent_ left behind as the Mathter dusted off, wobbling slightly from the impact.

"Fool! My mathematical genius can't be _divided_ by a _zero_ like you! For you have failed to _carry_ the fact that I have my _infinity_ helmet!" With that, Hego gasped as an energy beam suddenly emanated from the Mathter's head, blasting him back. He groaned as he pushed himself back up, the Wego twins swarming the villain, but the Mathter laughed, blasting the copies away while his coefficients occupied others.

Suddenly, from behind, there was a purple glow, and Mego, now at full size, tackled the Mathter, knocking him to the street, allowing Hego to rush in and grab the Mathter by the collar and introduce his face to the pavement, holding his hands in a lock, "Give it up, Mathter."

"_Minus_ that, _negative_! AHahahahahaha!" he responded, laughing and leaving him in a confusion.

Suddenly, Hego felt an energy blast hit him from someone else, right to his back, and felt weak, disoriented. He fell to the ground, groaning, almost whimpering as pain shot through his body, as if on electric fire, his body bursting for help... he felt such a sensation, once before... _No, he and Aviarius... can't... have... teamed... up..._

He looked up, and saw, to his horror, a Vandal slammer with some sort of experimental energy cannon, cackling evilly as he blasted Mego, causing the (admitted) overly smug superhero to collapse in pain, forced back to his normal size. He couldn't see the twins, but he knew that if they weren't careful, they'd lose their powers again...

XX

Kim, having come from the now-cleared wharf, shut the rocket rollerblades off and leapt forward, kicking the Vandal with the device in the head with a flying kick, knocking him back. A group of Vandals showed up, a mix of slammer meat shields and buff bruisers. Shieldbash was fighting off Aviarius and his avian robots at the airport. She smiled, "Well, twelve to one and more stacking against me, those odds don't seem so bad..."

"Hardly, Possible!" shouted a SWAT officer.

"Don't worry, Possible, we've got your back!" another one, the sergeant, added, coming up with his riot shield and baton, and a half-dozen SWAT officers came out of seeming no-where, and charged the slammers, the sergeant taking on one of the slammers and flipping him over his riot shield like it was a scene out of _300_ before moving onto a bruiser, who he not only fought to a standstill, but gained an upper hand. Kim rushed the Vandal with the energy cannon, who had staggered to the back, recharging it, and he fired it...

She didn't have time to dodge the blast, and it hit her... to _absolutely no effect_. She scoffed in amusement, and charged the horrified Vandal, tackling him, causing his device to break as he hit the asphalt. A bruiser charged her, swinging. Wade called, and she answered before jumping out of the way, hitting the bruiser in the side with a kick.

"_Kim, I just did a scan, that guy's using a copy of the sapper! It's weaker, but you have to knock out any Vandals you see with them, or Team Go is gonna feel it."_

Kim was ducking several blows from the bruiser in front of her, a tanned man who looked like he was from the GWA, and possibly _was_. She kicked him as Wade finished his sentence, knocking the bruiser backwards.

"Got it," she answered as she rushed the disoriented bruiser, grabbing him by the two chains he wore like suspenders over his bare chest, and hurled him into a trio of slammers who were pounding a SWAT officer's riot shield, causing the entire group to become entangled and out of the fight.

"Thanks!" the SWAT officer responded, before moving to assist another one with his Vandal opponent, using his shield and baton to knock them down.

"_Tear Grenade!_" shouted a SWAT grenadier who arrived on the scene, and Kim inhaled sharply before the air got chokingly hot, turning to see a large group of Vandals coming in the distance... only for a single grenade to sail over, and land in the group, which began to, once the tear gas got into their lungs, cough, closing their eyes, and generally dissipating as a group, the two that managed to avoid the tear gas easy prey as Kim grabbed the first one's club hand and disarmed him, kicking him into his friend and leaving the two on the floor, whimpering. She just stayed clear of the area covered in tear gas.

"Girlie, where's your _significant other_?" shouted someone, and she turned; the Mathter had gotten up, and Team Go was still down, except for the Wego twins, who were now brawling with a horde of Vandals along with the SWAT squad, swarming their opponents with duplicates.

"Learning how to avoid math puns," Kim answered as she leapt at him, dodging a beam from his head. _What the heck? This guy some sorta psi dude?_ She dodged two more blasts, glad she was a _cheerleader_, and not a member of the debate team.

"How do you like the pi? The _infinity_ helm allows me to use the power of the _infinity_ dome to _multiply_ my mathematical genius to _equalize_ the odds in a favorable _ratio_!"

"That's it, no more textbook for you!" she answered, a jump from a handspring clearing her from another attack and she kicked him in the chest, sending the Mathter away. He got up, and growled at her.

"You see, girlie, the _odds_ of my victory is _greater_ than the _absolute_ of the _odds_ of your victory because your victory is by far _less_ _than_ _zero!_ In fact, your victory might as well of been-"

"Divided by zero?" Kim finished as she slid under him and leg swept him, knocking him onto his back, "That's just sad," she continued as she flipped backwards right back onto her feet, "Least Mister Downin kept the puns to a minimal..."

"Have some _pi_!" he responded, drawing a pi-shaped projectile and hurling it at her, catching her in the chest at point blank range and sending her tumbling back into a SUV, whose alarm went off as she hit it and probably left a dent. She felt something hot around where she'd been hit by the pi projectile; _Great, that'll bruise,_ she thought as she pushed herself up and charged, dodging another blast from the Mather, but the second one, split into smaller rays, hit her like a splatter-shot, causing her to skid to a halt, staggering. Her opponent laughed as he began to charge a bigger one while she was low, but she saw a certain man in black and blue pushed himself up, a distinct glow coming from his hands...

"Your numbers up, Mathter!" Hego shouted as he grabbed the mathematical maniac by the scruff of his neck, and hurled him towards Kim, the Mathter's back exposed. Kim jump kicked him, knocking him to the street as his spine wound up on the receiving end of her melee skill, even if it was only a basic hit. She grabbed him and pulled him over, drawing her fist back and waited for recognition, and horror, to appear in the Mathter's face, before she punched his light out, knocking the 'infinity helm' off of his head, and one of the Wego twins smashed it, just to be safe. Or was it one of the duplicates? Kim couldn't tell at this point in all the confusion of combat.

XX

Shieldbash focused power to his shield as Aviarius sent a wave of heat-seeking hummingbirds at him, the hummingbirds hitting the energy shield and harmlessly (to him) detonating.

"Feel the wrath of Aviarius!"

"Eat plasma!" he responded, lowering the power to his shield to hurl a bolt of energy (not plasma) at the bird-loving maniac, who dodged and leapt onto his giant condor, flying into the air over him. He turned, and shut the power off from his shield; it wouldn't help him if his foe was airborne until projectiles started flying or Aviarius was close enough to hit. He hurled a spray of low-powered energy blasts into the air, hitting the _extremely_ high ceiling in the airport as he missed. _I can't believe the airport has this high a ceiling,_ he thought as Aviarius swooped down towards him, level in altitude, and he knew what he was going to do. Shieldbash quickly went defensive, taking cover behind his shield and charging it with every bit of juice he could pump from his body...

Aviarius and his condor collided head on into him, taking him with them as they barreled through, speeding down the airport. He turned his head, and groaned as he realized they were going to be flying out the window, and resigned himself to pain about to hit him.

They crashed out the window, Aviarius flying into the air, and Shieldbash turned, trying to fire his powers off to slow his descent, but it wasn't working... and he landed onto a surprisingly soft surface... a large truck bed full of mattresses.

"Damn convenient," he muttered as he leapt off, Aviarius flying over to his lair. He gripped his fist, and sighed, pissed that the villain got away. He tapped his headset, "Shieldbash to Geek-One; Aviarius was defeated, but he got away."

_"I got a lock on him;"_ Wade answered,_ "he's heading back to his lair. If he comes back, I'll warn you. For now, we got a sighting of WWEE agents going for the Science Center."_

"On my way!"

XX

**Satsuma, Japan**

Shego leapt away from the blade as it came crashing down, charging her plasma and hurling a pair of bolts at the head, hitting the eyes with sheer _luck_. The sidekick had charged his magic again and collided with the leg, _breaking through..._

"Yes!" she said deviously as she grinned, leaping up and swinging to the head as the golem collapsed in pain. She began to wail on the golem's neck, slashing through it with vicious, practically _evil_ wanton as she began to decapitate the golem. The head finally fell off, and she began to punch in deeper, forgetting about Ron as she began dissecting the golem with her plasma, intent on making sure it never came back up to give her problems.

XX

Ron groaned as he stumbled off, completely disoriented from his crazed stunt...

"Ugh... never... doing... that... again..." he said in short breaths as he landed on the ground, dazed, barely able to make out the golem collapsing away from him. A minute passed in pain as his body began to ache, but from what he didn't know, but he knew he was tired, and oddly so. He could hardly see, and felt fatigued, light headed. _Ugh, I dunno why..._

He closed his eyes and took, deep, steady breaths, trying to recover, but it wasn't coming quickly. He grabbed the signet that von Vage had given him, squeezing it and trying to activate it, and felt relief as the energy went through, mending his wounds. Not fully healed, but it stopped the bleeding and kept him from falling unconscious. He heard crashes, but ignored them, too tired. About another minute, or two possibly, later, he heard confident, solid footsteps, and heard a woman say "Come on, sidekick."

He opened his eyes and saw Shego standing above him, and tried to nod, slowly pushing himself up.

"What's wrong, get hit in the head?" she asked sarcastically.

"Nah... crashed through stone... ow, ow, ow, there goes my spleen" he wimpered in pain as he heard cracks in his body as he stepped and felt sharp jabs of pain as he hopped forward carefully, the signet hadn't worked as well as he hoped. Shego snorted as they entered a newly opened door. As they entered, Ron saw a lot of fancy statues... suddenly, blue and green colored ghosts appeared, and Ron tried to get alert, thinking it was more ghost monkeys...

"_Ronald Adrian Stoppable... and Shego."_ one of the ghosts, of an old man in robes that looked oddly western to Ron as he looked up, the singular blue ghost seeming to have authority. "_An unusual team up."_

"Yeah, well," Shego said, "We had coincidence on our side. Nice golem."

There was a hushed gasp, and the blue ghost said, "_You would do well to be polite, the only reason we grant you audience is because of your former work as a superhero, your crimes are grievous, including one of temporal manipulation. But because of it, natural order restored."_

"What?" Shego and Ron asked simultaneously. "What the heck're you talking about?" Ron asked, "I don't recall her ever messing with t-"

"_Silence._" the blue ghost said, cutting them off, "_That is for you to learn, perhaps postmortem. However, Stoppable, I believe you have something for us, you sought us out at behest of Sensei."_

"Yes..." Ron said, glancing around, and Rufus ran in with the crystal, and he took it, leaving it on a central pedestal. The ghosts closed on it and Shego took steps back, watching...

The council of ghosts began to chant, in unison.

_"Fire and fury..._ _A red haired woman in battle... Power corrupted, bloodied with hate... Rugged determination, testament of unpowered will... A golden scale thrown out of balance... History once erased shall repeat... Evil shall rise, and so will a heroine... __Times will be challenged, and balance will be tested, to fall or remain. __And pride to be descendant, or ascendant__; And while a heroine shall rise to protect such balance, should she not have power... she shall fall."_

The monks finished the recitation, almost summarizing what Ron had seen in the visions, and the leader added, _"This is what you've seen in your visions as you acquired this crystal, summarized in proper order. It is _not_ the actual prophecy, but it is what you were shown."_

"What does it mean, chronomancers... uh, masters?" He really wished Sensei gave him honorifics to use...

The leader looked at him with narrowing eyes; "_Indeed, dark times are coming in the years, but it shall play out as destiny intends. Evil shall rise, and while shattered, a heroine will lead what remains of humanity, regardless if she likes it or _not_."_

Ron scratched his head, "Uh... sorry, I'm not really good at de-cryptic."

The leader scowled, rolling his eyes, and added, "_An ancient threat is returning, and once again, it must be faced... but there is trouble. This time, you see, the cause of his previous defeat is not present, but could be if the choice is made. Should she chose not to take up those powers, then humanity shall return to ages forgotten, and such shall likely remain, for the intervention the first time shall not repeat."_

"Aren't you human... or were?" Shego asked, "Sounds like your problem as much as it's ours."

The leader looked at her, rolling his eyes as he said, "_We have transcended such, becoming ones with time. As more of our brethren do so, the time for your species to take on its destiny comes closer. Prophecy cannot be denied, nor can destiny. Should she not chose to take up the powers, humanity shall be under the boot heel of one long defeated."_

Ron's head hurt even more; _I __**hate**__ all this cryptic talk!_ "Look, is Kim going to be in the center of all this? That's what I need to know."

The ghosts looked at each other, and each nodded, "_Indeed. We will be interested in seeing the truth of her power, however. One of our brethren faces her soon, to evaluate her worth... to see if she's a worthy receptacle for the power necessary."_

XX

**Go City, Nebraska**

Kim hurled a Vandal into the paddy wagon, disarmed by her throw, and turned... and she realized that the Vandal leader _Prophet John_ had come. A dozen SWAT riot soldiers charged in with their shields to apprehend him, but he simply beat his way past them, leaping over them and taking them all down swiftly before Kim could get involved. He walked away from the pile towards her, in an unnervingly calm manner.

"So," he said peacefully, as if he'd been expecting this, "You are Kim Possible." He bowed slightly, "It will be an honor to duel you. And I shall determine if you are indeed worthy of the destiny to be yours."

"Screw that destiny," Kim said as she entered a stance, "I'm making my own."

He nodded, bemused, and responded, "The power to do such is rare. If you indeed have it, do not abuse it." And then he charged. Kim leapt out of the way of his attacks, evaluating his style. It was extremely talented, striking harder and faster than most humans. Hego came in to help, but one look from John, and Hego tripped, his power's glow fading involuntarily.

"What the?" Hego shouted, evidently surprised his powers were _entirely_ shut off as he pushed himself up, "You fiend!"

"This is not your concern, hero," John said as he joined battle with Kim, the two beginning to trade strikes as they began to apply very different styles of kung fu against each other, "Focus on my minions unworthy of destiny..."

Kim growled, and punched him, the blow getting through his block and hitting him in the chest. Impressive as she was, she was hardly any human. He staggered, and nodded, "Impressive. I see you have become powerful."

"Nah, just skilled," Kim answered as she continued to attack him, striking hard and fast with swift kicks and uppercuts, but John began a counterattack, several swift but strong strikes hitting her, knocking her backwards and into a downed SWAT officer's riot shield, knocking her forward as she hit. She pushed herself up and charged as the downed SWAT officers were being pulled away by their comrades clear of enemies.

"They believe you have a destiny, and we shall see if it is true, and if your powers will be worthy for this, or if you are worthy to receive the powers. Humanity's shepherds will be chosen again soon, let us see if you are ready to fight for your side."

Kim ducked as he gave the monologue, punching back hard, "What're you talking about?"

"You will learn soon, from your closest ally, Ron Stoppable..." John said as he recovered from the blow, and struck back.

XX

"OK, what is this destiny?" Ron asked.

"_If she indeed has the bloodline believed and is able to use it as a catalyst for power, she will become a paragon, a leader... but while she will rise regardless of power, it will be power that decides if she succeeds or not._"

XX

Kim grunted as she was hurled back into a pickup truck, setting it's alarm off, and John charged her. She gasped as she realized he'd smash her into the truck, and leapt over him, turned, and engaged him at point blank again. The two locked blocks, struggling to gain the upper hand.

"Those with power have always guided and protected the common man and woman, guided them to good or ill," John continued, growling, a distinct glow in his eyes telling him that this man used his magic to give him these fighting powers.

Kim broke the lock and began to attack him again, "Really? Haven't seen much of that." She slid under a pair of punches and broke under his guard, uppercutting him and causing him to stagger, but he responded with a leg sweep, sending her onto her back.

XX

Ron shook his head, "Power? She doesn't have any, just more skill than I can even dream of."

XX

Kim leapt back up and struck hard, knocking John backwards, and she added, "By the way, if you got all this from magic, you really should do a more 'normal' learning course. Magic obviously isn't working out for you."

John looked at Kim daringly, and she wondered what he was doing as she attacked him, hurling him away with a lucky uppercut followed by a judo throw. John recovered and continued to attack, eying her deeply, as if evaluating her very _soul_. She blocked a punch aimed at her jaw, grabbing the arm and pulling him past her, kicking him in the back with a raised foot as he was shoved so. He turned swiftly and struck back at her, but she dodged, turning her waist awkwardly, and punched back with a mean left hook, though that was blocked. His breathing became labored as he finished his deep gaze.

"You are indeed worthy... I can now... see the truth... in you... Kim Possible... and it is... nothing?... but... but how?... This isn't... possible..."

XX

"_If she does not have the power or refuses to gain such, then she will simply fall in matters over her head. Either another worthy shall take her place, or her failure will simply reflect nature taking its course. It will be her choice if she is willing to take up the ancient power, or to ignore it in arrogance._"

XX

"What?" Kim asked, grinning confidently as she took the offensive and established control of the fight's tempo, "Surprised that you're losing?"

"No..." John said as he blocked her offensive, sounding more tired, "It's just... you're nothing, not even bloodline for a catalyst... you... you just have... your mortal coil... _who are you?_"

XX

"Don't bet against KP, dude," Ron answered harshly, "She's a bona-fide _badass_. She can go toe to toe with any super or magic user and come out on top. Trust me on this one, I wouldn't wanna face her even if I had my mystic mojo at the max in a fury."

XX

Kim grinned as she maintained the upper hand, "I'm your basic, average girl..."

She ducked several blows, and hurled him into a nearby building, causing him to smash through a small window sill garden, John fell off, soil and plant alike falling on top of him, and he rose to fight as she charged him again, "I'm here to save the world..."

John struck at her, but she ducked the blow and retaliated with an uppercut to his chin, "And you can't stop me..."

John roared, charging at her with swift, brutal strikes, but Kim blocked them, then, once his attack was exhausted, spun kicked him, knocking him back, then grabbed him by the vest and hurled him over her head and onto the floor,

"Because I'm _Kim Possible_." She stared down at him, holding his arms down over his neck, pinned.

"But... how?" he asked, "How can someone without power do such things? You... you fight those with powers greater than you, yet you win... and they are... more experienced... it, it makes no sense! It flies in the face of all our knowledge!"

"I don't need, and frankly, I don't _want_ any powers." Kim answered as she kicked him in the chin, knocking him back. He retaliated with a full flurry of strikes, forcing her on the defensive.

XX

"_Perhaps she is a 'badass' as you say, Stoppable, perhaps."_

"But?"

"_But mortals without magic or other forms of power have their place, they are the sheep, if you will, and those with magic are the shepherds. The conflict that comes will decide who the shepherds are. Will they be those who will allow humanity to go on its own path, unguided, or those who will impose order of power? Without magic, humanity is nothing. It is a primitive, cave society without it."_

"Actually," Shego said with a sly grin, "We've come a _long_ way, if by 'caves' you mean ones we built _above ground_ on our own, standing at thousands of feet at times, then yes, 'caves'. As for needing magic, well, I've come along just fine without it."

XX

Kim punched at John to break his offensive, but he moved his head out of the way, "How can you have such a destiny ahead of you if you don't have the _powers_ required to do so and are unwilling to _get_ them?"

She just punched him in the gut, causing him to squeal in pain, and answered, "You don't need superpowers to do what's right." She hit him again, "You say people need powers to fight, huh?"

In the background, Team Go and GCPD SWAT was in full conflict with the remaining Vandals, the Vandals loosing fast, but less due to Team Go, and more due to the SWAT officers, those without superpowers.

"I say different," she said as she continued to beat him down, wailing on him and impressed at how much he could take; she didn't even need to hold back to avoid killing him, "To those who say we need magic, or superpowers, or any of that stuff to win, I say this;" She grabbed John and hurled him again into the wall, "Maybe some of us do. But there are those who don't, there are those who have nothing more than the _will_ to fight."

"And thus lesser heroes." John said as he tried to stand up, but tumbled towards the street, practically on his knees, "But heroes nonetheless."

"No, you missed the point." She walked up to him, kneeling by him as she looked him right in the eyes, able to see the fighting going on behind him, "The greatest heroes are those who don't have the powers to do so, but do so anyways. Those are the ones who are the best representative of what humanity can do, and will decide humanity's fate, as you say." John pushed himself up, panting heavily as he looked at her and she followed. "Yes, we can use magic, apparently, and yes, we can have superpowers, but most of us who fight? They don't have any of that. They just have courage, skill, and nothing but their own body and whatever equipment they can get." She punctuated the point by winding up, and ended the summation by punching John across the street, into the middle of the ending battle, causing the Vandals to freak and run for it, only to be hounded and arrested by SWAT and Team Go.

XX

"Wait, I don't get it," Ron said, "You're saying that Kim's going to be the hero in all this, but if she doesn't have any sort of powers, she's dead meat, even if she's good enough to make the mark?"

"_That is the truth._"

"I don't buy it," Ron said, shaking his head, "And do you think she will?"

_"It matters not what she thinks,"_ another ghost said, "_Only if she has the powers necessary to fight when the time comes. That is the crux; it is a turning point in time, in destiny. There are distinct paths; each path deviates from that single crux. Should she refuse power, all she does is lead us away. It has been foreseen, and was foreseen before even the general implication of yourself was a thought in your ancestor's mind._"

Ron shook his head, "Dudes, she's been fighting super villains for _four years_ at this point, and when she got powers, they lasted for such a short time she never even got perfect hang of 'em. She's been a bona-fide natural her entire fighting career and nothing is going to change that, even if she has the powers you think she does."

Ron caught Shego smirking out of the corner of his eye, and heard her add her two cents, "She's going to surprise you, I think, boys."

The ghosts looked at each other, then the leader said, "_Then I suppose there is a _test_ she can do... and use her bloodline as a catalyst..."_

"_We must send Shego on her way too, after the one known as Generalissimo."_ another ghost chimed in, "_His actions must be laid to rest before he jeopardizes things further. We should have foreseen such potential."_

"_Very well." _the lead ghost said before turning to them with a wave of the hand, _"Ron Stoppable, take this scroll to Kim Possible, it will detail a pathway for her to see if she is truly worthy of the destiny ahead. As for you, Shego, there is a temple in Central Africa, of an artifact erased from time so that the time that comes can remain stable. Seeing your role in such may... illuminate the truth in the matter."_

Shego snorted as she was given a map, "Yeah, sure. Alright, I'll look. Better lead me to this crazy I've been after, though, or you'll need a new golem pronto."

Ron nodded as a scroll came out of the central pedestal, writing appearing on it in English as if it was being translated from another scroll. He took it, then glanced at the crystal... "Should I take the crystal?"

"_If you wish to, but it is of no use outside of here. The prophecy fragments will be united and written down, closer to the appropriate hour of its passing, which is not for a time to come. The crystal is now unneeded. It is a testament, however, to the challenges you faced to gain it."_

Ron nodded slowly as he took both the scroll and the crystal, intending to leave it with Sensei, "Fair enough." But in his head, he was angry; _These guys are such... jerks, come on, why aren't they telling us everything? If this is some big super-threat we need time to be ready, not jumping at the last stinkin' minute... and they're so smug, come on, humans have been going without magic for a few thousand years, if we haven't gotten good without it, we really need Darwin Awards..._

"If you don't make this prophecy available with adequate time for us to be set for this, when we're all ghosts, I'll be coming back," Ron added, irritated at this council of vague cryptic knowledge that would take years to decipher.

To his surprise, the ghosts _laughed_, and the leader said, "_We are ones with time, young paladin, even without your mortal coil limiting you, you would not find a method to threaten us truly, for we're part of the universe itself, a very _fabric_ of it."_

Ron growled, and said, "Come on, Shego, let's get outta here. Had enough of this."

"Oh yeah," Shego answered, "If this is a waste of time..."

Ron glanced at the map Shego had, surprised to see it had English writing and even GPS coordinates; _wait, this scroll is brand new, must of been written... or maybe it's a translation..._ He put the GPS coordinates into memory, intending to call Kim and tell her about Shego being after that "Generalissimo" figure, in the event she needed to get in there and stop Shego. _Best not get hit in the back because we didn't have a clue,_ he figured.

XX

**Go City, Nebraska**

Shieldbash ducked under the WWEE agent's energy blast, glancing up as the agent with the symbol for Beta on his chest, who evidently had some sort of energy powers, fired at him. He blocked the next set of energy shots with his shield, and charged, shield up. Two WWEE agents tried to get in the way, but he knocked them aside with his shield, and smashed into the WWEE super, colliding with him into the wall of the science center and knocked him out of it, leaving a hole. He glanced to the right in his peripheral vision, and realized he could of just sent him out the door. _Damn, that sucks._ he thought as he leapt at the WWEE super, who desperately fired his green energy-based powers, but his shield took it, though each hit began to tire him. His constant use of his powers were beginning to tired him; he had to rest soon as he charged after the agent, leaping after him through the hole. The super fled, running for it and not even bothering to shoot back. Shieldbash smiled as he noticed, and shut his shield down to conserve his powers, and fired his own energy blasts at him, catching the agent in the back and sending him helplessly into an ice cream truck. The super slid off and landed on the pavement, too battered to continue fighting, and Shieldbash cuffed him and keyed his radio, "Geek-One, this is _Shieldbash_; Science Center secure."

"_Good work; SWAT's mopping up about now and PBD are sending pick up for the supers jailed. See you in ten?"_

"Ten-four. Over and out."

XX

**Dementor's Secret Lair**

**Alaska**

Dementor nodded as the data came from Lucy, who avoided getting involved directly with the battles in Go City and reported on what was going on; "Good, ze sapper works to specifications. I knew zhat I could replicate ze design! Ze distraction was placed, und now ve can move with less worry of Global Justice intervening."

"Uh, sir," said another one of his henchmen on radar duty, "We just got word that there's an arsenal down in Australia; Synthodrone Production Facilities."

"Mobile?"

"Yes sir."

"Good... yes, those would be quite useful as additional distractions or defenses... I vant a team sent down and ze MSPF's recovered. Ve will need zhem."

He frowned as he scanned the area, then raised his eyes, "Perhaps ve should go down personally... hmmm, those MSPF's are producing, yet no claim is visible on them. This vill be interesting. I'll go down personally. Inform Lucy that he's to infiltrate the local Science Center once celebrations are well underway und the guards will be snoozing on ze job."

XX

**Go City, Nebraska**

Kim shackled John, asking, "So what were you saying about those with powers being needed for humanity to get anything done?"

"Be at peace; you have proven yourself worthy of power." he answered, "You will soon learn of a way to gain such, to enter a catalyst. My duty was to test you, to see if you either had the power already, or were worthy of wielding the power, of withstanding it. You've done so."

"Yeah well, keep the powers, I don't want 'em." she casually answered, but she couldn't deny she was jealous of Ron's powers. Of how easy it was for him to throw threats away from him… just the fact he had something she couldn't really match in the same field. She shook the thought away, but it remained in the back of her mind.

He sighed, "You do not understand the significance of what is happening, do you? The masquerade placed by the Conclave is being shattered, entombed power is being returned to the world, and the Relics of Time have been destroyed, their timelines explored and rectified. What has happened today was Destiny's way of picking the champion and you successfully stood against me; you are worthy of that honor. And you are worthy of the power, you _must_ gain it to be strong enough to succeed."

"As I said, keep the powers, I got my own style. Powers are for people like Ron or Team Go here. I run it the old fashioned way."

John chuckled, "Oh if only you knew the irony of your words."

She rolled her eyes as she shoved him into the paddy wagon that parked nearby. Once the other SWAT officers filled it with Vandals, it drove off. One of the officers stood next to her and said, "Damn nutcase if you ask me; goes on about powers. Hah, we did pretty good; at least thirty of those guys had powers and we took 'em on. Thanks for the help, by the way."

"No big," Kim answered, crossing her arms as she looked around. The city had smoke coming from some of the more violently attacked areas, but in all, the city was safe. SWAT had done its job, and since she, Shieldbash, and Team Go had been the mobile for much of it, the damage to the city was minimized. It was battered, but it stood._ Just like humanity,_ Kim thought with a sigh, _Battered, beaten, and hurt, but still standing, still there._

XX

**End Chapter**

**- Alright, maybe Team Go didn't feature too heavily as I hoped, but that was a deployment of the Sapper, to show its effects in a reasonably visible environment. It was a follow up of the previous chapter. :/ I dunno, I guess I had a hard time getting the focus on them. Not sure why.**

**- I always am annoyed as hell that in everything involving ancient magic or prophecy, it's **_**vague as freaking hell**_** and almost always discovered when it's right and needed, and never with time to get some fact finding done and calm preperations. Makes a better story, sure, but come on, if they had the foresight to write it a few centuries ago, they can set an alarm clock for a few years before the stuff goes down with secondary alarms to make sure it's heard.**

**- I went through the conversation between Kim and "Prophet" John a few times; originally it had a similar tone, the same prophecy bullshit, but once I did consider having him take a more neutral tone; admit that powers are needed, but express doubts of being required. The end result speaks for itself, I think.**

**- Kim's a badass normal; shoot me to hell if I'm going to change that. Taking on threats that you'd normally have superpowers to handle without having said powers is Kim's shtick; why change her character so much? Maybe I pulled it last time, well hey, I was a noob last time :P**

**- And apologies about the Mathter; I had to come up with some decent math puns squared for this fic. Please don't hurt me; he drives me up a Z-axis too. ;)**

**- Shieldbash is basically Captain America with energy powers, to put it bluntly. Originally, I designed him while fiddling with **_**Mission Architect**_** from City of Heroes/Villains as an ally, though then he was a scrapper with sword/shield. Eventually I changed the concept for this fic and he's what he is now. Poor Will Du will never catch a break, though.**

**- I'm also intrested in a Beta Reader, if anyone wants to. Please speak to me in PM's so we can discuss it in more detail.**

**-= Document Recovery: "Ron Stoppable"=-**

_Source: Global Justice Databank_

File: IMP-02

_Subject__: Ron Stoppable_

_Alias:__ "Unstoppable" (High School Football), "Zorpox" (evil-alter ego from HenchCo Attitudinator); "Unstoppable7" (online nickname)_

_Gender__: Male_

_DOB__: September 4th, 1988_

_Classification__: Freelancer (In Process of being Reclassified)_

_Origin__: Magic (Previously Natural; see file for details)_

_Affiliation__: Potential Affiliation with the "Yamanouchi" school, Unconfirmed; interest shown in joining Global Justice, see file_

_Citizenship__: United States of America_

_Summery/History__:_

- _Ron Stoppable, unlike Kim Possible, has been a relative unknown in career, often being mistaken as Wade Load (who was previously never seen outside of his room). He has, of the team, been the butt of every joke involving them, often ignored. However, while he did not get considerable credit other than a possible back mention, he offered a certain intangible to the team, which has been code-named "The Ron Factor" (see files TRF-01 to TRF-99 for details) that has resulted in the proverbial spanner in the works for many a doomsday device. However, his skill in combat has been considered to be minimal for most of this period or only appeared in brief bursts; it was not until roughly three years of missions that he began to show actual combat ability on a consistent level._

_- He has been present in the team since its founding, but of note is his involvement in the rise of the villain Montgomery Fisk, better known by his new alias "Monkey Fist". During this time, due to Wade Load using an experimental hologram of Kim Possible, Ron was on his own, but he had tapped into four "Jade Monkeys", artifacts of supposedly magical power which gave him access to "Monkey Kung Fu" (see file KFS-17A). With this, he stopped the newly turned villain, but did not gain much in the way of recognition for such. However, from this point on, he was no longer without powers, and while they did not manifest, they remained within him, waiting for proper catalysts to trigger. One such hint of his powers was an incident at the Middleton Space Center that temporarily saw renegade monkey ninjas following him, but Wade Load created something to chase them off (Pheromones, Agent Mallard requested high-intensity psychiatric care after hearing the details and recording them; see file TMI-66)._

_- About one year later, in the August of 2005, Global Justice began a study of him to see if he was the key to Team Possible and its success rate, referring to it as "The Ron Factor". During this time he was captured by WWEE leader Gemini, but rescued shortly after. However, it was concluded that while he factored considerably into regular victories, it was nothing that GJ could harness or anything tangible or intangible enough to properly classify. Since then, he resumed a normal lifestyle (or what is normal for him). He began to show more consistent combat attributes around this time, however. He also went to a school called "Yamanouchi" during the following academic year, and afterwards it was clear he had gained some knowledge, and a later encounter with a known member of the school on several occasions gives cause to indicate something more is known there. Further investigations have met with nothing._

_- However, in 2006, the second half of his Junior Year, a dangerous turn of events occurred when he was affected by an "Attitudinator", a device created by Jack Hench's mad scientists to improve the evil capacities of various client villains. He was accidently changed by it during an infiltration of the Tri-City Villain's convention that year, and became one of the most terrifying villains to date, only being stopped by being returned back to normal by a repaired and reversed engineered "Attitudinator". GJ has kept a close watch on him at this stage, as key agents are worried of him turning into "Zorpox" again and the threat he could pose, as he would be the one villain who'd have a complete and utter advantage against Kim Possible. Such potential must be guarded against at all costs, or a keystone to world safety would be compromised._

_- Finally, at the recent alien attack (File: WAR-87B) he embraced his powers in full, turning into an unstoppable death machine and was one of two key factors that ended the invasion. His powers allowed him to take on and defeat the two aliens behind the attack effortlessly, hurling them into their still-falling spacecraft hard enough they went through it and caused the engines to detonate, shattering the ship. His powers have been somewhat inconsistent since then, only manifesting in shorter bursts, but they have remained considerable. He also has expressed interest in joining Global Justice, but like Kim, GJ has determined it best he remain a freelancer on GJ call._

_Combat Style__: _

_- His style is vastly different from Kim Possible's; he, rather than using an assortment of unarmed skills and acrobatic techniques, he tends to be more gadget dependant, or was, as recently he's started using his magic to supplement his physical limits and has grown into a capable combatant. He also is extremely durable, taking considerable abuse to a minimal hindrance of ability, including, but not limited to: Being shredded by several puma-like cats (and an actual puma), blown across large rooms and through walls, being nearly impaled by a forklift (several incidents), physical combative abuse including but not limited to groin strikes, nerve pinches, brutal uppercuts by Olympic-grade weightlifters, being dropped excessive heights in the stories range, and consistent and repeated pants loss. He also possesses a considerable reserve of endurance, but analysis indicates his magic may tax that, but in the past, it allows him to move at a full sprint for longer than most people, and he has referred to it as 'mad running away skills'. His display of magic during the alien attack also indicates that he may be able to become a one-man army, but GJ has no knowledge yet and with only one display, no reasonable analysis can be determined of his powers until more is known._

_- Subconscious abilities have been noted, typically when one of his friends (particularly Kim) is endangered, but also manifest at other times. Referred to as "The Ron Factor", it is both a hindrance and a benefit. Sometimes this bumbling causes villains to escape, but more often it allows him to find things most would miss when looking for them. This has been theorized to be secret to Team Possible's success, but GJ research indicates it is mostly a non-factor, more often than not only being a partial variable, not a match-decider._

_Weaknesses__: _

_- In his earlier days, a consistent weakness was a lack of combat abilities and a slew of phobias that could be exploited. However, his recent rise of combat ability, while not to the level of Kim Possible in strict hand-to-hand, has made old methods more useless. He is still somewhat gadget dependant, meaning if he's stripped of those he's easier to contain. His magic however, has reclassified his weaknesses entirely. So long as he cannot access such, old methods will work, but once he has access to it, his magic must be removed ASAP for a successful takedown. It is suspected that his 'evil' side has full control if his magical potential, which is a worrying prospect, and as such, it is important that Global Justice devices a countermeasure independent of Kim Possible in light of his close relationship to her and potentially war-crime worthy psychological warfare (See Kim's file, IMP-01, for reasons why). Key research into the device called a "Sapper" by PBD (see file PBD-66S) will be required, and presumably will add a weakness to him: Vulnerability to being sapped of his powers._

_- He has a long list of phobias, including monkeys (mostly over it), insects (small only), mechanical horses, garden gnomes, anything related to Camp Wannaweep, and yet more that have not been verified. Using such should be effective. No villain has, however, created mechanized garden gnomes to use this, but Global Justice has several warehouses of them just in case he becomes Zorpox again or has to be taken down. This, in addition to further childhood trauma and parental neglect has left his psyche fragile, only taking sturdy stabs in the correct places to make him fall apart, particularly notable during the Hank Gourmet Cupcake Incident (see file WMI-76) where he became fearful for his life upon learning the 'odds', which he has regularly defied. Such realization saw him taking measures even paranoia does not begin to cover, including locking himself in a Panic Room._

_- It is also noted that Kim is a very _bad_ target when you're attempting to subdue him, as it's been noted in the past that targeting her is a very good way to make him mad and have him subconsciously tap into abilities he normally doesn't use, most notable during the Alien Invasion (see file WAR-87B). Attacks on him must be direct, which does not seem to trigger his subconscious talents. However, Kim's assertive personality has left a mark on him; he's laid back most of the time and he can almost be considered subservient towards her, potentially a subconsciously trained response to her Type A personality. Although this has mellowed out as they became a couple, Ron still defers to her leadership in combat even when it'd enter his expertise more than hers. Ron has great potential, but due to being with Kim and her Type A personality for almost two decades, it is likely that said potential has been permanently damaged and will never properly surface until he learns to challenge that Type A personality and win, though such is unlikely due to how much he values his friendship with her. It is indeed a tragic waste; he could be so much more, but he holds back because of it._

_Conclusions:_

_- Ron Stoppable has great potential; potentially greater than Kim's. However, while much of this potential has been seen in short flashes, mere visages of it becoming more consistent as he matures, it has been permanently weakened by Kim's hypercompetitive attitudes. Conversely, Kim has pulled Ron forward, likely giving him a reason to step up into greatness. It has been difficult to gauge where Ron's true potential is, but it's noted that his current main asset, his magic, was only gained because he began saving the world alongside Kim. His previous classification of Freelancer, which he shared with Kim, is no longer valid until we can determine how his powers have affected him and changed him. Further eyes must be kept on him; like Kim, he is a keystone to the safety of the free world, and if turned to evil ends, he could very well spell the death of us all._

_- Fortunately, so long as Kim remains as a heroine, it is likely that such would be curbed in infancy or stopped before it can become a proper threat. Regardless, steps must be taken to compensate for the loss of Ron Stoppable, and further steps to help him break any subconscious damage to his potential should be considered, as a fully realized Team Possible would be unstoppable._

**-=Document Ends=-**


	7. Chapter 7: Brawl Down Under

_"What was I thinking when Ron stepped up and embraced his powers? A mix, really. Shock and awe, just from seeing that much power being used at once, seeing the sheer _strength_ he could bring to bear. I was horrified too; I mean, if he could use that much power, what did it mean for the rest of us? He was basically a non-evil version of 'Yono' right there, unstoppable and shooting enough magic to probably take out an army. It was like seeing David fight Goliath, except instead of a sling, David had been turned into some sort of demigod. What else did I feel? Well, to be honest, I think I was a bit; no, I was _very_ jealous that he got all that power without really having to work for it. It was probably for the best that he could never channel that much power in normal circumstances, but I couldn't help but feel some awe for it, to feel like I wanted that kind of power at the flick of the wrist. To be able to just settle a fight without even breaking a sweat. That make me a bad person? Who knows; but I did feel that jealousy._"

- Kim, reflecting on Ron's powers maturing in full during the lorwardian attack during Graduation, as recorded in her _Liber Memoriarum_

_"You see, Myron, ze Sapper was created to reduce those with powers to their most basic level to allow PBD soldiers to subdue zhem and hold zhem in captivity, considering their pathetic track record. By getting copies of ze tech to dependant agents, not only have I allowed heroes to be veakened, but ve also have people who vill owe zheir success to me, and vill obey when ze time comes. It is, vhat do zhey call it, a vwin-vwin situation."_

- Professor Dementor to his henchman Myron about why he duplicated the PBD "Sapper" for usage by multiple parties, including WWEE, the Vandals, a few choice mercenary companies, and HenchCo (in return for most of the profits, as he supplied them), prior to heading to Australia

**Chapter 7: Brawl Down Under**

**July 18th, 2007**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim sat at Beuno Nacho; it was roughly four o'clock now, and Monique was sitting with her. The news had played a brief report on what happened in Go City.

"So, Kim, guess what's happening tonight," Monique said.

"What?" Kim asked, not liking the worry in Monique's voice.

"Innocents for Public Safety; they've apparently gotten those 'restrain the freaks' nutcases from after Junior Prom on their side and they're doing a big rally. Railing on you pretty hard for the damages caused in Go City."

She sighed, putting a hand to her head, "It's not like I actually caused the damage, Monique... I mean, yeah, I dodged the fireballs, but what did they _want_ me to do? Stand there and get burned _alive_?"

"Hey, not saying you're at fault," Monique defensively added, putting her hands in front of her, "Just saying that you may get a mob if it really goes south."

Kim sighed in annoyance, "Ugh, can't people focus on fixing the problems rather than looking for scapegoats?"

"You ask me, girl, the scapegoats should be the actual aliens that caused this mess."

"Yeah, true, but they're kind of dead, and people don't like _dead_ scapegoats until they ill them..." Kim shivered, "So, you think it'll be a problem?"

"Long as they keep it cool."

_Beep beep be-beep._

Kim answered, "Go, Wade, what's the sitch?"

"_Kim; General Malta's on the line. Lemme patch him through."_

General Malta appeared in a diagonal half-cut across the screen, and he nodded, "_Miss Possible. I've been informed by Australian's PBD divisions that Professor Dementor and a large group of his men are moving into the Australian outback. Sensors indicate he has the Sapper with him. Australian PBD will be moving to engage, but they wish your assistance in the matter as you have the most experience with him."_

Wade cut in, "_Kim, I just got a message from Ron; hang on, beaming the data..."_

A (recently written) scroll with English writing appeared, talking about some mysterious ruined temple in the Australian outback and a boatload of destiny stuff that she really didn't think was very accurate about a champion with some fancy magic rising up and facing some powerful magic-guy. She assumed it was a translation of the text. _Destiny laced world-destruction stuff? If I had a nickel for every one of those we busted..._

"_Looks like a load of hogwash to me,"_ Malta said, evidently reading it too. _"What's the source?"_

_"I'd like to agree, but according to Ron's message, he got it from what he says is a source worth checking, only mentioning 'ancient dudes and the usual'. He didn't say who it was, but with all the weirdness that goes on, you never know. Here's another thing; he said that Shego's been after some "Generalissimo" villain whose been setting up arsenals around the world, but he doesn't know anything about it other than that. They wound up working together out of necessity to get to this source. Ron sent GPS coordinates to where Shego's headed."_

_"If that criminal Shego's after something, I say Possible heads there. But the Sapper is also critical, we _need_ that technology to prevent anarchy, official or unofficial."_ Malta frowned, "_Possible, I'm going to contact Doctor Director and see if she can't send a super or some agents down there while we recover the Sapper."_

"Wade, can you link us to her?" Kim asked.

"_Affirmative,"_ Doctor Director said, "_Wade got me on a secure link. General, what's the SITREP?"_

"_We got a lock on the Sapper in Australia, and PBD is going to move to recover, but we have reason to believe that the super known as Shego is heading to Central Africa investigating a villain known as "Generalissimo", and we have tentative word indicating he's leaving large arsenals for various criminals to make use of, increasing destabilization of the globe and continuing Unofficial Anarchy."_

_"I do not subscribe to that theory, but I understand your concern. I am recalling several agents in the area now, we will keep an eye on Shego and find out what we can."_

"What about me?" Kim asked, "Your agents aren't going to last against Shego. I should head down there to help."

"_Kim, PBD is giving you a ride, I don't have anyone who can get you to Central Africa, only ride we had was lost during the graduation attack."_ Wade added as he read something on his monitor back at his house.

"Sounds like a choice's bein' made for you, girl." Monique added, "Dad said _they_ always did that."

"Shhh." Kim said, then turned her attention back to Wade, Malta, and Dr. Director, "I seriously think I should go against Shego; the Sapper is important, I know, but if Shego's investigating something, we may need that knowledge, for all we know, it's the source for a lot of these villains' gear. I'm placing my money that this "Generalissimo" is an alias for Hench or someone along his lines."

"_Then let's hope she finds evidence,"_ Malta said, _"But I'm not trusting her for one minute. Doctor Director, see if you can't get agents in there before Shego shows up. Possible, we will have a transport awaiting you at the Middleton Airport at 1830 hours to take you down to Australia."_

"General, Shego is one of the toughest women out there; _I kicked her into an electrical tower_ and you know what she suffered? Mild concussion, frizzy hair, and a few scratches. I don't think a squad of GJ agents is enough to be enough to take her down if she doesn't want us to know about this."

"_Possible, we need the Sapper back in PBD hands,"_ Malta retorted, _"It's already being duplicated to use against the few supers who are trying to _help_, if we let the sapper continue to be used by criminal elements, we're looking at anarchy._"

"_Kim's right, to a point, but these aren't regular agents, they're some of our best."_ Dr. Director said, "_I'd like to have Kim there when we potentially face Shego, but we don't have a transport currently available, unless PBD has one."_

_"No, we don't have a flight line to Central Africa yet; we're still working on it. I could send her along, but it'd take a while to get clearance. Doable, but we'd give up the sapper doing so."_

Kim sighed, not having much confidence in this, "Alright, but tell the agents to avoid getting into a fight with Shego if they can, alright? I suppose I can investigate Shego's case later..." She didn't like it though, something told her she needed to go after Shego, but she wouldn't deny Malta was raising a valid point in the sapper being needed.

"_Agreed."_ Dr. Director said, "_We'll try and gather what we can, so we aren't blindsided by anything she finds."_

"_Hang on,_" Wade said as something came up on his end, "_I did some more analysis on that scroll Ron shot us a record of; Kim's going to need someone with her when she investigates that temple or ruins or whatever."_

"_Son,_" Malta said, "_It's hogwash, bunch of prophecy junk that some old 'mystics' got their hands on when they were wetting themselves. Low priority, not even tertiary."_

_"We thought superpowers were impossible,"_ Dr. Director responded, "_And look where we are now. Kim can investigate such after she's finished with Dementor down in Australia."_

Malta sighed, "_Good point, Doctor Director. She might as well verify what's in there so we're not blindsided by some eldritch abomination or whatever cliché that prophecy bull's on. Doubt we'll yield anything, but these days, it pays to be careful."_

"Who's joining me then?" Kim asked, "I don't think a GJ soldier can keep up, even one of their commandos."

_"Agent Crash is in the area, on one of our small island research facilities off the Australian coast,"_ Dr. Director said, "_He's superpowered: advanced agility allowing for high-intensity whirlwinds at point blank range for melee combat. He can help."_

"_I dunno,"_ Wade said, "_It said it only allows 'one of power, but no more' to enter, and apparently it can't be any random person. I think we'd better play it safe and send someone without powers that Kim knows. I don't think a PBD soldier is the best option, considering they aren't good spelunkers."_

"_I call bull on that, Mister Load, who'd be better? An expert in archeology? Actually..."_ Malta said, reconsidering for a moment,_ "Can you contact Professor... Icari, correct?"_

_"No dice,"_ Wade answered.

"_Doctor Krenn?"_

"_MIA."_

"_Valdez?"_

Wade gave the same answer as Kim sighed.

"Look, I'll find someone. Maybe we can call Ron; his t- business is important, but I can't think of anyone better. Heck, if Ron can't come, maybe Yori."

"_Who?_" Dr. Director asked, frowning. "_You never mentioned her before, yet it sounds like you know her."_

"Friend Ron met in Japan," Kim explained quickly, realizing she probably should of mentioned her, "Student exchange, if I can reach Ron, I can reach her."

"_She have qualifications?"_ Malta asked.

_You bet, ninja school trainee who's pretty good._ Kim thought, but remarked, careful to try and avoid leaving hints that she was telling only half the truth, "She's pretty good at kung-fu; tough enough she can keep up with me, and did during a mission she got caught up in."

"_Kim, I'm having trouble getting contact at my usual uplink in Japan;"_ Wade said, adjusting some equipment above his computer,_ "I think there's a storm interfering, or someone's jamming... gah! It's WWEE, they're jamming my signal in Japan area; I think they're moving something..."_

"_JPBD bases can handle it,"_ Malta said, "_For now, Kim, find someone quick, or we'll send a PBD soldier or GJ agent. Signing off, over."_

Malta left the conversation, and Kim sighed, trying to wrack her brains for someone she could bring; _Wade's definitely not good in a field pinch after that incident in Hanks'... Tweebs are just going to cause problems in a PBD base playing around with tech... Felix is off to college... 'rents are busy with their jobs... and I'm definitely not working with Will Du or Team Impossible if I can avoid it._ "I'm having a hard time thinking of someone." Kim finally said, "At least, someone I would work well with."

"What about me?" Monique finally asked, "Dad's an ex-marine, girl, you say your genes let you kick butt like you do, I bet I can do the same. Hey, I held myself pretty good in Milan, you said so yourself."

Kim dropped her jaw, "Monique, I really don't think this is a good idea, we're looking at a war zone if Dementor brought a lot of henchmen or has a bunch of synthodrones, and this isn't the fashion underground's base."

"_Technically, she can remain in the PBD base until after you finish with Dementor,_" Dr. Director said, rubbing her chin, _"And once you've finished, the base can lend you a Humvee to get you in the area while you investigate. Shouldn't be dangerous."_

"Come on girl," Monique said, "I can handle myself, besides, I'd rather be away when the IFPS starts aknockin' for support, my dad don't like those guys one bit."

Kim sighed, "Wade, I'm out of options. Do you have like, a shield or some sort to keep Monique safe if things get rough?"

_"No, but the PBD firebases in Australia are pretty tough; only one security breach, and that was the aliens."_ Wade said confidently, "_She'll be fine. She did alright when we went after Junior over my... yeah..."_ Wade stopped as Monique began to scowl, which Wade couldn't see but most likely knew was coming at him.

Kim sighed, recalling that sitch didn't even have a fight, "Alright, fine, Monique, you can come. We're leaving in less than fifteen minutes; want me to pick you up at your house?"

"Sure thing," Monique said as she got up, her house wasn't far, "See you in five."

"See ya." Kim said, getting up and looking at Wade one last time, "Look, Wade, I really disagree with this. I'd rather have Ron with me; I'm worried about Monique's safety."

"_If her father's an ex-marine, I doubt the notion that she doesn't know self defense."_ Dr. Director added, "_May not want to tell Malta, though."_

Kim winced, thinking about what his reaction would be. _Probably something about how a PBD soldier is _not_ worse than a civilian._

X

Kim frowned as she saw Monique clad in what looked to be like her old mission outfit, black top (with no bare midriff) and grey cargo pants; "Alright Monique," she said as her friend got into the passenger's seat of the Sloth, "Explanation?"

"Four years old;" Monique explained succinctly, "When Kim-style was in. Kept it around just in case Little tight, but I had my growth spurt when that was going on, so I knew to get a bigger size."

Kim nodded as they drove off, "Ah, right. I was about to ask who the supplier was. Surprised they still made the style Ron uses though, considering they dumped mine."

"The geek-boys behind making those kept it even after it was outdated," Monique answered, "Guys in charge of the Smarty Mart stores figured we might as well keep a few around, geeks like Ron as a hero, you know? Surprised they didn't try the same with you."

Kim shrugged as Wade appeared on the central screen that the Tweebs had built in, which was used instead of the radio when he called. "What's the sitch, Wade?" she asked.

"_Before you get on the plane,_" Wade said, "_Check the trunk; asked the Tweebs put in one of Ron's old favorites for Monique to use."_

"I'm not sure if I should be happy, or freaked," Monique said as Kim wondered which one of Ron's old favorites he'd had put in the back.

The town was looking better, and with power lines rebuilt and the city's power plant back, things were really returning to normal in Middleton again. Kim shivered as she realized the nightmare the janitors probably went through to clean the Tweeb's makeshift power for the school; mystery meat fueled battery? That was a thought that even the toughest GJ _Specter_ operative would puke at just hearing half of the phrase.

A few minutes later, they drove up to the Tri-City airport, which was located in Middleton. A GJ hovercraft with PBD markings was waiting, and the two got out of the car. Kim opened the trunk, and was surprised to see a tightly folded up life raft, then she realized _which_ life raft it was.

"Nice," Kim commented as she pulled it out and handed it to Monique, pointing at a button on the folded-down life raft, "It's small enough to fit in your pocket; just hit the button twice and if it has room, it'll expand."

Monique frowned as she held it; "Why'd Ron like this?"

"Turns out it had an unusual underlay or something," she answered as she grabbed two backpacks from the trunk as well, handing one to Monique. She noticed a small trinket on them, but she had a feeling those were for later, and instead finished her answer, "Lemme put it this way; if it's out, it's a pretty reliable shield against projectiles. Ron used it on the laser defenses on Senior's Isle until I could disable them; think it was two or so weeks before Junior Prom."

"Oh yeah, when Monkey Fist swiped your Nana's photo book; hey, this is a cool raft," Monique said as she put it in her pocket, and flipped the backpack open, pulling out contents, "Hey, cool, my own grappling hook..." she pulled it out before putting it back in, "A med kit, I guess... a helmet... and... uh, what's this?"

Kim glanced over and saw Wade had packed the comb that he had turned into a boomerang, "Huh, I thought Wade shelved that one," she commented as she took it gently, and gave it a swift throw into the open parking lot. The blue comb spun as it flew a good twenty feet away before arcing back. Kim caught it easily, and handed it to Monique, "It's basically like throwing a rock, but it comes back. Has a small motor too; should be a clip in... ah, here it is," she pulled a clip from Monique's backpack and handed it to her; "Clip that somewhere, it's a tracking device so the comb will use its motor to boost over to you once it's on the way back. Just don't get too far, though, it's not that powerful."

Monique nodded as she clipped it to her belt, and slung her backpack over her shoulders, then asked, "So, what'd Wade give you?"

Kim opened her backpack and found that Wade hadn't given her much; in fact, it looked like he just put some survival gear inside, as she already had her shock stick, grappling hook, EMS, and laser lipstick in either her belt pouch or in the appropriate belt-mounted holster. There was also a helmet, no surprise to her. She then noticed another thing in the backpack, and frowned, picking it up. She smiled, "Looks like Wade grabbed the holo-Kim again,"

"Huh?" Monique asked as Kim pulled the small projector with a reusable adhesive out of the backpack, and she put it on the ground. Once the adhesive stuck, a hologram of herself, clad in her old mission outfit, sprung to life.

"Wade made a remote-controlled hologram system a few years back," Kim explained, "Still has bugs, but he managed to make a projector that can spit an image out consistently." She pressed on the projector itself, causing the hologram to fuzz like static as she put her hand into it to do so. She put the hologram generator back into the backpack, and pulled it over her shoulders. "Probably won't be too useful, Wade never updated its image, but it's good for confusing a drone's IFF."

"IFF?" Monique asked, "Oh, right, Identify-Friend-Foe." The two were now walking towards a PBD helipad, which had a PBD transport with VTOL capability on it, being refueled as a few PBD soldiers loaded crates onto it. Kim walked up, and nodded to the pilot, who was taking a checklist off of a clipboard.

"Miss Possible;" he said, nodding, "Flight Officer Mal Farms, I'll be your pilot to the Australian PBD base _Under-3_, the primary base."

Monique chimed in, "Why's the third base the primary one, not the first one?"

Kim shrugged as the flight officer answered, "I dunno; maybe you can ask them... say, why isn't Stoppable with you? Thought he was your sidekick."

"I'm just fillin' in," Monique explained.

"She's actually only helping with a post-mission investigation," Kim added, "She'll probably stay in the base during the main mission."

Mal shrugged, "Not my problem; I'll let the general know you found someone to help with the, quote, 'hogwash', unquote, investigation."

"Right," Kim said, and a few minutes later, they were headed to Australia.

XX

**Central Africa**

Shego slashed branches out of her way with her plasma, having hacked through the jungle because there wasn't anywhere for her to land her hover board safely near the temple itself. She kept alert, and moved forward, able to see the temple in the distance... it looked like a giant monkey. _Ugh, feels like I'm picking up Fist's dumb plots,_ she thought as she moved closer, making a mental note to find a way to semi-permanently harm those 'chronomancers' if they had put her on a wild goose chase.

As she came out of the woods, she was surprised to see a GJ agent outside the temple, and ignited her plasma in anticipation of a fight. The agent shouted, and headed inside. Shego followed, and realized that a dozen GJ agents, all African, were inside... and these, she figured, weren't going to be garden-variety GJ agents part of their PBD law enforcement arm.

As she entered, she saw a circular, practically empty area with a platform in the center, which rose, a GJ officer at the top, said, "Shego, here's the situation: We're after this Generalissimo person, and once you find whatever he left here, we'll follow up and take him down."

She shook her head, "'Sorry' guys, but I'm afraid I can't do that, I'm the one who's going to decide what to do with him." Two soldiers aimed their stun watches at her, and she scoffed, "You really think you can take me?"

"If you won't comply, we're fully authorized to arrest you and send you to containment."

"Yeah, like you can even _hit_ me."

"FIRE!" the sergeant shouted, and the two stun-watch aiming agents fired. Shego leapt into the air, somersaulting forward and landing on another GJ soldier activating his electro-gauntlets, knocking him to the floor. She stepped off and blocked another GJ soldier charging her with his powered gauntlets, and hurled him into four other GJ agents charging, leaving the two agents down and the rest disentangling themselves. She rushed the officer, leaping up the stairs and knocking a GJ agent off of them while she was at it. The officer fired his stun watch, but Shego slid to the right, avoiding it, and blasted him with a bolt of plasma. He staggered, surprisingly not blown off the platform by it.

"I am, of course, wearing body armor with a specialized underlay." the officer said, grinning, "Which is designed _specifically_ to help me take hits from energy-based superpowers or weapons. Global Justice is not stupid and is aware of the poundings that we take in the field."

"Take this," she said, then kicked him in the face, knocking him off the pedestal down the some fifteen feet as other GJ soldiers charged up behind her, firing stun watches. She dodged, and leapt off, taking a smaller leap as she landed and turned, hurling plasma at the GJ soldiers as they turned around to attack. She grappled a female GJ soldier and hurled her into the pile that she'd started making earlier, but the previous occupants had disentangled themselves from it. She charged into the line of GJ soldiers.

The first one she struck back with an uppercut, while the second one was blown away with a pair of sturdy punches followed with a kick to the groin, which was _then_ followed up another uppercut. The GJ soldiers were going down like wheat; good as they were, she was _far_ better.

One of them hit her in the back with his stun watch, causing her to shout as electricity shot through her, and she fell to her knees. The GJ soldier advanced on her and she could hear his electro-gauntlets powering up...

And she spun kicked him, knocking him to the floor and taking his legs out from under him. She leapt back onto her feet, finishing the maneuver, and shot another GJ soldier with her plasma, sending him into the wall, _hard_.

She charged the next GJ soldier, and grabbed her by the vest, throwing her across the temple and out the door. She went through the next two soldiers quickly, slashing their armor open and hitting them in the chests hard enough that resounding cracks were audible, likely translating into broken ribcages.

The last GJ soldiers standing rushed her, from opposite sides. Shego grinned, letting them come close, then leapt up, landing on the platform with a few quick acrobatic moves, and as the agents skidded to a halt to look up at her, she leapt towards them, plasma charged, and landed right on top of them, flattening the two soldiers straight into the ground and left them unconscious. She scoffed, "Yeah, sure, 'arrest' me." she said, and looked around. She walked towards the platform, and noticed there was something missing; like there was supposed to be a weight in the center. Closer examination revealed a pressure plate. She stepped into the center of it, and nothing happened. _Maybe slug these GJ soldiers onto it,_ she decided, and began dragging the downed soldiers, leaving them in a neat pile on top.

She heard a _click_ as the last agent was put on, and the agents fell off, landing roughly and were likely killed by the falls. She ignored that, they were just idiotic GJ soldiers who tried to get in her way when they didn't have to. Still, she couldn't help but think that it was a waste that they had to (probably) die, but she knew that even if she didn't kill them, there was a possibility of carnivores taking advantage of the fact they were down.

As the soldiers fell off, a pedestal moved up, and based on the glowing runes on it, it was magical in nature or something like that. She glanced around...

A red swirling portal opened, and a man, wearing what seemed to be a generals uniform, stepped out. The portal closed behind him, and he nodded.

"I am impressed, Shego," he began, and she knew immediately this _was_ indeed the 'Generalissimo' she'd been after, he had the same voice and the silhouette would match. "While you found few of my arsenals, you succeeded in facing one of the most powerful defenders of ancient knowledge."

"Well, had to find you."

"Indeed, and I suspect now you want to know more."

"Doy."

"Very well; let us start with the entire premise behind my arsenals: You see, I am what you might call an _echo_; a artifact known as the _Tempus Simia_ once existed, but no longer."

"So how would you know about it?" she asked, pointing out the logic.

"As I said, I am an echo... but even echoes have reach. Technically speaking, the _Tempus Simia_ timeline was _destroyed_, but it remains in storage, for lack of a better word. In that timeline, you did what many villains couldn't because of their ineptitude..." He inhaled, and delivered the message with stoic finality;

"_You took over the world_."

XX

**Northern Territory/South Australian Border, Australia**

The PBD officer in charge of the base, one Commander Daphne Duray, had given Kim all she needed to know to find where Dementor was and had directed her to one of the PBD Humvees, which she hitched a ride with as the PBD soldiers moved into the field to detain him.

_Beep beep be-beep_.

"Go, Wade," she said as she answered the call.

"_Kim; I got a lock on the sapper; Dementor's about four klicks to the north."_ Wade explained, _"Be careful; I don't know what kind of henchmen he has with him, but I think he might of just hijacked one of those MSPF's."_

"No problem;" Kim said, "We're ready for anything out here."

"_Good luck."_ Wade said as he ended the transmission.

The Humvee continued on as they travelled off road, and Kim could see, in the distance, the MSPF in the distance, and saw at least fifty drones assembled, all standard issue... piles of goo nearby indicated that whoever the previous owner was had been busy before Dementor hijacked it. About a eighth-mile from the factory, the drones began to charge and the Humvees skidded to a halt, the PBD soldiers getting out and opening fire with their GJ laser rifles, cutting through the drones while Kim moved up towards the MSPF, intent on disabling it.

Most of the drones were rushing the PBD soldiers, but a pair of them stopped to fight Kim. She leapt over the first one, and grabbed the second by the arm, and hurled it into the first, knocking the two into the firing lines of the PBD soldiers. She continued sprinting forward towards the MSPF, which was about to deploy another four drones. Two of the drones were ready, this time a pair of heavies, and they challenged her before she could draw her EMS. Kim leapt up, landing on the shoulders of the one to her right, and leapt off as the other one tries to hit her, missing and instead punching out the head of the other drone and causing it to melt. She landed behind the collapsed drone, and leaped at the second one, laser lipstick ready, and she jammed it into its head, melting the key components. She leapt off and ran towards the MSPF, EMS at the ready, ripping the vent off of the power core and shooting the EMS straight inside, then she ran to get clear as it detonated within, exploding out and around as it overloaded.

_Beep beep be-beep_.

She answered, and the PBD Commander Duray was on; "_Nice one, Possible! That'll hurt these guys. Radar says Dementor and his men are moving north, knock 'em out."_

"Got it," Kim said as the Humvees quickly picked up the soldiers; Kim grabbed the rail of one as it passed and rode in the back, holding onto the rail as they drove after Dementor. Kim pulled a pair of binoculars out and looked ahead; Dementor and his men were using some sort of half tracks to move. Slower than a Humvee, by far, but better protected, and Kim had a funny feeling they'd be armored thickly enough that an EMS hit wouldn't do too much. She put the binoculars away as they maintained pursuit, chasing down Dementor, he seemed to be heading for a mesa up head...

XX

Dementor growled as he saw the PBD Humvees chasing them; "Step on ze gas, into ze storage facility, go, go!"

He hit a button and the large door disguised as a mesa opened; _So, the MSPF we left to distract PBD didn't go very well, but we still have five more in here! Interesting that Drakken's henchwoman got her hands here first, but at least we didn't lose anyone disabling that programming._

They drove inside, and the door shut behind them. "Get ze drones out there! Ve need time to extract ze data!" He reached for his wrist com link, "Fantine, what's ze status on ze helicopters?"

_"En route, sir."_

"Good! ETA?"

_"ETA is five minutes."_

He nodded, he could last that long, the cheerleader and PBD would take at least two minutes to get there, and the synthodrones could simply plug the only entrance left in until he got away.

He plugged in his uplink and downloaded all the data, overriding the security locks. _Interesting, interesting..._ he thought as he read it, glancing behind as synthodrones began to move out to engage, heavies being added to the mix to keep PBD on their toes.

XX

"We got drones moving up!" shouted the PBD sergeant as drones armed with what looked like grenades were moving up, "Take 'em out!"

The PBD soldiers cocked their rifles and opened fire, hitting the drones and opening holes in them as the laser rounds hit, the drones crying out reports of their termination as they melted. As the Humvees skidded to a halt, she got off and nodded to the PBD squad next to her. They moved forward, taking cover in the bushes as the other two squads focused on repelling the drones, steadily pushing forward. Suddenly, the squad with Kim opened fire on the flank, reducing the push against the other two squads and kept a group of drones from throwing their _Blitztod_ grenades.

"They set for stun?" Kim asked the nearby sergeant, gesturing to one of the soldiers laying down suppressive fire.

"Yeah, don't get hit, though." the sergeant responded as he let his GJ laser rifle cool; he glanced up, swearing, and warned "Heavies!"

"I'll handle the heavies," Kim said, "Focus on the main group." With that, she leapt out of cover and charged the first armored synthodrone. It saw her and changed direction, intending to take her down. She leapt over it, the drone swung it's fists down to where she'd been, and she landed behind it. She gave it a solid kick to the back to stagger it forward. The drone turned to face her, but she was already attacking, leaping up and kicking it in the face. She back flipped as she landed, the drone swinging down to hit her as she rolled under it, tripping it and causing it to land face-first and smash into a rock, cracking it's comparatively fragile face open and caused the drone to melt. She glanced up as a second drone charged through the underbrush to attack her. She drew her laser lipstick, sliding to her left hand as the drone continued to charge at her, and she leapt onto its back, jamming the laser lipstick into the drone's head and melting the components inside of it, causing the drone to collapse.

She heard a distinct electric buzz, and looked up just in time to see one of Dementor's new electric grenades explode near her, sending her flying, and burning her side, leaving a rip on the side of her shirt, shooting pain through her chest. She inhaled and got clear as another grenade followed, dodging left, than right as a third grenade flew. She reached the drone and grabbed it by the bandoleer of grenades, and hurled it towards the drones. A grenade was left behind, spinning in the air. She caught it and hurled it at the drones, and it detonated, blasting the nearby drones and melting their shells open, leaving the drones to melt into goo.

Another heavy charged, and she leapt up, kicking it in the face with both feet, back flipping, and with a leg sweep, she brought it down to its back. She got on top of it and punched it in the optical receivers, breaking it open, and resulting in her hand being covered in synthogoo. She glanced up, and saw that PBD had advanced, coming near her. Glancing ahead, she saw that an armored door opened and another group of synthodrones came out, only to be shot apart by the PBD soldiers. Kim ran over as one of the sergeants called her.

"Possible, Dementor's got evac incoming; there's some sort of top-side entrance, can you get in and flank him?" the Sergeant asked.

"On it!" Kim answered, moving up to the side of the mesa, and she fired her grappling hook up, winding the grapple in as she leapt up the vertical side of the mesa. As she reached the top and climbed up, she glanced down and realized just how _badass_ the Australian PBD division was as they took the drones out with brutal efficiency; enough to impress her considerably. _I'd hate to take on these guys,_ she mused before tapped the Kimmunicator; "Wade, I need a tech scan for the roof entrance."

"_Gimmie half a hack,_" Wade said as he began typing, "_Alright, it's concealed nearby, about fifty steps to the northeast of your current position."_

"You rock, Wade." Kim said, and took those fifty steps, and saw a rock jutting out. She examined it, frowning as she heard helicopters in the distance. She found a concealed switch, and a large bay door opened in the mesa, part of the rock rising up on metal supports and shifting over other areas of rock before settling, giving Kim a perfect window to get inside. She looked down, seeing Dementor and two dozen of his henchmen inside, synthodrones heading out of three working MSPF's as the other two seemed to be, disturbingly, packed up. Dementor had the Sapper on his back; it looked to her like some sort of flamethrower in design; she reckoned that the backpack was for power while the gun part actually fired the 'sapper' beam. She leapt down, grabbing several of the support beams as she swung down, and landed behind Dementor with a very soft thud.

"Hello there." she said with a smile to get his attention.

Dementor turned, and shouted in an unusually high pitched tone, "_KIM POSSIBLE!_"

"What's up, Prof?" she asked as she kicked him in the chest, knocking him back six feet at least. She felt something hard under his outfit, and knew that Dementor was likely wearing armor, for once. She heard shouts from the henchmen around the bay.

"Get her!"

_"This is for Dementor!"_

"Target sighted!"

"**Grenade**!"

Kim turned, and leapt up as a grenade rolled under her into a corner before harmlessly detonating. A jet-pack equipped henchman charged her as she landed, however, colliding with her into the wall. Blinded by the impact, the henchman got back and punched her in the chest, the blow impacting her ribs and further disorienting her. She didn't let him get another hit, however, as she began to hit back. She decked the henchman in the chest, causing him to grunt as he reacted, his shoulders shooting up briefly. Kim followed with two more punches, with similar results, before she finished with an uppercut, punching him a quarter the way across the bay. Two of Dementor's _Balmung_ armored henchmen charged, and Kim leapt over them, letting them collide into each other's side. She landed on their heads, a foot on each one, and leapt off as the henchmen untangled themselves.

"Swing from the hips!" shouted another heavy as he charged, almost as if reminding the other two.

"_We get it_!" shouted one of the two tangled heavies as the pushed themselves off of each other and surrounded her. She held her stance, ready for their next attack and even more ready to dodge. Kim grinned, "Three against one, how exciting!"

A grenade sailed towards her, and Kim leapt to the side, before flipping over one of the heavies. The grenade exploded, sending the heavies staggering backwards.

"_Idiots!_" the grenadier shouted, "Stay outta my throwing lines!"

Kim looked around and saw two other grenadiers moving into position to engage the PBD soldiers, who had brought out their riot shields and were advancing steadily into the nearby room. She ran towards them, the grenades hurled through the door at the PBD soldiers were, far as she could tell, impacting the riot shields but lacked the punch to break through. Grabbing the bandoleer of the right side grenadier, she hurled him into the other one, sending the two into the wall and knocking them out. The vault-like door shut automatically as she ran towards the other henchmen. One of the heavies that had tangled up earlier charged in at her, and she leapt up, letting him hit the shut door, causing him to slam head-first into it, and he collapsed like a cartoon tree, wobbling for a few moments before collapsing, and the door remained open this time, causing PBD fire to come in, but the drone production stopped, and so did the laser fire.

Kim looked up, several of Dementor's helicopters had arrived, two of them were the usual one rotor blade black helicopters, but there were several of Dementor's personally designed ones with twin rotor blades. The helicopters discharged a volley of laser fire down at her, and she leapt out of the way, avoiding the deadly attacks. One of the helicopters came down, firing on her as a back hatch opened, keeping Kim pinned towards the door and unable to rush past as Dementor and his henchmen hurried into the helicopter.

PBD soldiers came in, swearing as they rushed into cover as the helicopter continued to lay down fire. Kim flipped off a wall, a laser blast hitting it just a split second after she was off. She rolled forward, winding up under the helicopter. Crawling out towards the back, she was forced onto the ground as the helicopter lifted off. The other helicopters came down, two of them had picked up Dementor's half tracks, and the others were securing the MSPF's... She looked up, drawing the EMS and fired, hitting one of the packed-up MSPF's instead of her target, causing electricity to spark, the EMS didn't hit anything critical and the armor on the packed up MSPF insulated the device's key components. Suddenly, a pair of rockets sped down, forcing her to leapt away, the EMS slipping from her grip and sliding away.

"Auf wiedersehen, Fräulein Possible! Ve _will meet AGAIN_!" Dementor shouted down, the sapper still on his back as he laughed and turned away. Kim quickly drew and fired her grappling hook, which stuck into the MSPF carried by the last dual-rotary bladed helicopter, and let the motor from the grappling hook carry her up towards the helicopter. She gripped a handlebar on the side and holstered the grappling hook.

"Not this time, Dementor!" Kim shouted, "You've got something that doesn't belong to you!"

Dementor raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at her, jaw dropping as she scaled along the ridges of the MSPF to get closer. PBD was opening fire on the other helicopters, but their lasers lacked the range to hit the helicopters as they rose. Kim glanced down, to check for any threatening lasers, realizing that with how high she was, a fall was going to _hurt_ if it didn't kill her outright on impact. Her chest was hurting too from the hits she'd taken, but she ignored it as her limbs swam in adrenaline as she climbed up, as the other helicopters moved formation to stay out of her grappling hook's range. _Great,_ she thought, _now I have to hijack this chopper..._

She was careful not to go to the sides, where the rotary blades were; she knew that it'd knock her down with the constant propulsion, and climbed up the back, gripping the side of the helicopter as she came in, and opened the side door, sliding in quickly as the pilot closed it. She ripped the pilot out of his seat, the safety belt ripping with him, and she hurled him into the back of the pilot cabin, knocking him out. The helicopter began to spin out of control, but she got into the pilots seat and steadied it. She glanced up, and saw that the other helicopters were turning to fire on the one she commandeered...

A pair of rockets sped out, hitting the port rotary blades, causing the helicopter to spin, falling. She took a glance; she was far enough from the mesa and PBD humvees to risk it. She disconnected the MSPF, which fell down to earth, lightening the load and giving Kim more time to try and stabilize the helicopter. She growled as she tried to push it to the right and up, to compensate for the missing left rotary blade.

Warning sirens were sounding off constantly, lights flashing wildly. _Hydraulic pressure lost; engine missing; fuel leaking faster than Bonnie backing down from a real fight... just what I needed_ She glanced back at the pilot, and muttered, "Didn't cover this in HenchCo flight school, did they...?"

She glanced down, and realized she was still over the now-wrecked and burning MSPF and she struggled with the helicopter further, but it wasn't working, the helicopter was beyond control now, and she saw another symbol flash, for only one second, barely long enough for her to read it, the blood-red letters sending a chill down her spine:

**CONTROLS DISABLED**

"Great..." she muttered, glancing to the left, and hoped she could time the escape just right; she grabbed the pilot, hauling him over her shoulder, and kicked open the door as they approached the hard earth. Wind howled up as they continued to fall, the fall slowed by the failing rotary blades. Hoping for the best, Kim leapt out, the henchman with her, as they were about to crash. They landed roughly on the side of the wrecked and, in some places, burning MSPF, and rolled down the side roughly, pained yelps escaping Kim's lips as she bounced down the metallic surface. An explosion blew her and the unconscious pilot off of the MSPF and send the two rolled into the Australian landscape, and Kim slid a few feet on her back before stopping. She pushed herself up and dusted herself off, watching Dementor escape. Sighing, she hit her wrist Kimmunicator; "Wade, can you track Dementor?"

"_Yeah, trying... he's heading northeast, but that can mean anything. I'll try and trace his flight path, but its needle-and-a-haystack at this point."_ Wade answered as he typed furiously.

"Got it, Wade. Tell PBD I captured the pilot of the chopper I hijacked."

"_Right, I'll let 'em know your coordinates._"

She glanced at the pilot, who groaned and put a hand on his head, looking around. "What… oh… great."

"You can thank me later," Kim said wearily as she started wishing she had a medical kit with her as the various cuts she acquired from the crash landing and her burned side began to hurt again.

XX

**Central Africa**

"What do you mean, I took over the world?" Shego asked, frowning, but the idea had appeal to her; a great way to get Hego to shut up about her being a 'hero at heart'.

"Exactly what I said, you took over the world successfully and held it for twenty years, until the timeline was destroyed and unraveled."

"Doesn't sound like me," she commented, "I'd rather let Doctor D do it."

"Maybe. But you're the villainess with the most likely chance of success; you _know_ what you have to avoid to win, you've seen how such plans have been destroyed and have experience in doing so." The Generalissimo gestured vaguely with his right hand as he talked, "That makes you more dangerous, the only one with a fair chance of putting down those heroes. Being an ex-heroine yourself, you know how they think, how they always _react_ rather than _act_."

"True." She said, "But I'd rather just tan."

"If you don't want to, I'm sure someone else can pull it off;" he inhaled, "But the thing is, humanity is unstable now, _this_ is the time for a villainous plot to succeed. So many issues are causing governments to look the other way not to excuse something, but because they don't have the eyes to look at it." He gestured to the portal behind him, and it started showing images that Shego recognized from the news, "It's only a matter of time until total anarchy occurs. And then where will you 'relax'?"

She frowned, but then scowled, "Hey, you aren't suckering me into any plot."

"The only think I will sucker you into is the tools, what you do with them is your choice."

She nodded, thinking that that was fair enough, then something clicked, and she asked, "Wait a second, if the timeline was _destroyed_, how does it have any relevance now?"

"Just because it's gone doesn't mean it shouldn't exert influence on what is now becoming the true timeline."

"You know, if you want _me_ to take over, how do I know you're not faking it?" She ignited her plasma, "I could probably rip you apart and end this annoying thing here and now."

"You could… How about I _show_ you the timeline? To prove I'm not a fraud?"

She turned her plasma off, "I'm listening, if only for curiosities sake."

He nodded, and the images in the portal faded, and he gestured, "Step forward. You will be a spectator, completely invisible to the world and, as needed to keep you from interfering with anything, intangible. Only within the timeline, of course; once you're back here you're mortal again."

She nodded, and stepped cautiously into the portal, and fell through, flipping, and she landed with a tumble as she came out the other end, and pushed herself up quickly, hands raised in a combat stance just in case.

What she saw surprised her… in a good way.

XX

**Dr. Drakken's Lair**

**Caribbean Sea**

Drakken hummed to himself as he put the finishing touches on the doomsday device, "Muahaha! Yes! The _gravitronic grappler_ will be _perfect_ for showing up Dementor at the Mad Science Fair this year! MUAHAHAHA!" He did a little jig as the device powered up… "BUAHAHAHAHAHAHA-"

And then, the evil moment of doomsday crowning was ruined by the doorbell ringing. Sighing, he walked over and opened it, "Yes, what? I have a lot of evil genius work on my plate today."

The HenchCo deliveryman nodded, "Sorry for the inconvenience, but you got mail. Here," he handed a box to Drakken, and he frowned, taking it inside,

"Ah, yes… thank you!" he answered after putting the box down inside, and checked the camera; the man was leaving his island. He took the box into his lab and opened it up…

And there were a large number Lil Diablos, packed like action figures to be packaged. He growled, "Grrrr…. Who's taunting me now? Dementor?" He glanced at the label… "Oh… Shego. Why'd she mail these here? She already has a busted one for a souvenir…" He shrugged, and returned to work. "Now, where was I..."

He remembered, and began his evil laugh again; "_MUAHAHHAHAHABUAHAHAHAHAA_!" With a push of a lever, the device powered, and he turned it on...

_**KABOOM**_.

It exploded, blinding Drakken and blowing him into the wall, completely covering his lab in smoke, the automatic fire extinguishers drenching the area in fire retardant foam. Drakken fell to the floor, and felt around his face; _Ow... that'll scar... oh wait, it's my old one._ he thought as the smoke cleared and the extinguishers stopped firing off as they emptied. He growled, sighing, and examined his latest doomsday device's wreckage. Then the flower pedals popped out again, and he snarled; ripping the pedals off. He didn't mind the plant powers... it was the pedals that got him.

XX

**Australian Outback**

A PBD Humvee drove up, and stopped at the top of a hill. Kim Possible and Monique got out, and the driver leaned out, "Right shelias, you're on your own from here."

"No big," Kim answered, and the Humvee drove off. Monique looked at her, frowning. "What?" Kim asked.

"Sure you want to be out here with that burned chest?"

"Pfft," Kim snorted, "I climbed into an airborne helicopter with it, I think I can handle the outback. Besides, docs said I'd be fine."

Monique shrugged, "Right, well, I got the med kit. So, how're we getting to these ruin things?"

Kim pulled her backpack off and grabbed the small trinket, which was shaped like a skateboard, and flipped it onto the ground; she explained, "Wade set us up; he's wanted me to try out these land surfers for years." The toy-sized skateboard suddenly expanded, and a sail appeared from it with a handlebar. Monique frowned, pulling the trinket off and dropping it. It started to expand, but held off on the sail.

"Don't move your head close to it;" Kim warned, and the rest of the sail deployed. The two grabbed their helmets and slid their backpacks on. "Ready, Monique?" she asked.

"Uh... sure." Monique said, looking down the hill as she held on, "Couldn't we just use those rocket skates of yours?"

"They have fuel limits," Kim answered, "This doesn't," and with that, she pushed off, and started to ride down the hill, enjoying the thrill of the high speed as she sped through the Australian Outback towards the coordinates.

XX

**Stoppable Residence**

**Middleton, Colorado**

"Whoa!" Tim Possible shouted as Hana grabbed him by the ankle and pulled him to the floor, flipping him onto his back, "Help?"

"Oh man..." Jim answered, running over to try and disconnect the two, but she just held him in the air, "Easy, Hana, _easy_!"

Hana just laughed playfully, putting Tim down and rolling on her back. The Tweebs felt like they were going to have a heart attack; _now_ they understood why babysitting her was something that Kim had to be called in for... or Ron, but he was in Japan. The two crawled into a corner behind the couch, panting and trying to recover.

"Hikka-bikka-boo?" Jim asked.

"Hoosha..." Tim answered, dazed. They glanced around, and, fortunately, Hana seemed to of calmed down, and was lying cutely in the center of the living room."This is so not worth ten bucks,"

"More like fifty..."

"... no, five hundred..."

A minute passed, and they heard a car pull up..., no, cars plural,

They glanced outside, frowning; they didn't recognize the individuals by name, but they'd seen them around Middleton... they crawled up to the window to get a better view of the individuals; someone outside grabbed something from the trunk... and another grabbed another one of the square things...

The Tweebs gasped as they realized what was about to happen, rushing towards Hana as a brick sailed in, landing on the couch. A second brick flew in, as glass from the shattered window sailed in, cutting the two as they shielded Hana. The second brick landed on the TV, crashing through it and the cable box.

"Get outta here, freak!" shouted someone outside; a woman.

"Yeah, we don't want your mystic shit in Middleton!" a drunk sounding man shouted.

"Send 'er back to China!"

"YEAH! Let's do it!"

Jim looked around, the talk sounded at least somewhat drunk to them. Realizing they needed help, he grabbed Kim's old Kimmunicator out of his pocket.

"So glad Wade gave that to us," Tim said as Jim called.

"Wade, we got a prob-"

"_I know, got a hit from Barkin,"_ Wade said, "_I called the police... hang on, tapping into your satellite for some images... uh oh, they're coming!"_

Tim grabbed Hana and ram upstairs while Jim followed, looking for something they could cobble together as a weapon as the door was broke down and the first two members of the mob, one with a pitchfork, the other with an (unlit) torch, came in, and a bigger mob would soon enter.

XX

Mister Steve Barkin swore as he saw the brick sail into the Stoppable residence, and parked his _third_ pick up (supped up by the Possible twins and Reager to resist energy-based blasts, kinetic impacts, and better fuel efficiency to avoid detention) on the side of the road, paged Wade Load, and got out, walking up behind the mob of at least twenty people.

"Detention, Bert," he said as he tapped one of the rear members of the mob who was guarding the cars, a student of the now-Senior class, and punched him in the face, sending him into his SUV and setting it's alarm off. Barkin leapt around the car, putting a hand on it to help him swing by, and grabbed the next mob member, a female student who graduated during the alien attack, as she tried to stop him, but Barkin held her by the throat and slammed her into the Stoppable's lawn.

He glanced up, and rushed forward, another man standing in front of him, one of the now-Junior JV football players, and Barkin found himself tackled, hitting the grass with a solid _oof, _and the man punched. Barkin got his head out of the way just enough, his jaw only grazed by the blow, and he punched the jock in the gut, before launching himself onto him and punched him in the jaw to keep him down. Pushing himself off, he charged the next one, the JV QB, who stopped to turn his crowbar against him (Barkin did not want to know where he got one). He grabbed the crowbar mid-swing, and yanked it with all the strength he could muster, ripping the crowbar from the now-ex QB's hands, and used the bent end, which was blunt, to hit the student in the stomach, causing him to bent over. Barkin finished him with a tap to the back of the head with his fist, and he dropped the crowbar next to him.

He stepped into the house, over the broken down door, and grabbed a female member of the mob, causing her to turn and swing her purse, hitting Barkin in the face enough that he was knocked into the wall, knocking a picture off which bounced next to him and landed face-down. "_Cheese and crackers_, lady, what'dya have in there?" Barkin asked as he kicked at her from the ground, hitting her leg and causing her to fall forward, the purse impacting his head...

And knocked him out cold.

XX

Jim shut the door to Ron's room, locking it and hoping it'd hold them back long enough for them to figure something out... _Come on, gotta be something in here we can make into something,_ he thought, and Tim said, "Think we can throw together a trap?"

"Easy." Jim answered as Hana was put down on Ron's bed, "Grab the lava lamp."

Tim smiled knowingly, and grabbed it; the two began to turn it into a nasty surprise. They also grabbed Ron's keyboard, breaking it into the parts they'd need, and started wiring their surprise to the door while making sure they had enough insulation to avoid lethality. The door shuddered as a mob member outside started hitting on it as other mob members began to shout.

"What's gotten into 'em?" Tim asked aloud.

"Drunk?" Jim offered, grunting as the two pushed on the door to buy some extra time. A thud and cracks on the door told them they were out of time, and they ran up the stairs as the door broke open.

The first few members of the mob charged, only for the lava lamp to fall on them, crashing with an electric current from the keyboard parts, causing a chain of electricity to speed through each gangster, just enough voltage to knock them out. The half a dozen mob members affected collapsed, and to their relief, sirens could be heard.

XX

**Innocents For Public Safety Meeting**

"Wait a minute, what?" said the current speaker as the police entered, "What do you mean, 'cease and desist'?"

"Only until we verify what's going on," said the SWAT officer leading the team of regular cops, "But we got reliable word and supporting evidence saying a group of your members are on a lynching in the Stoppable residence. Until we can clarify things, we're asking that you cease the meeting. Once we've determined everything, as long as this really is just something unfortunate, you'll be free to continue with apologies of the inconvenience."

"Hrmpf." the speaker said, "Is the government really going to trample our rights?"

"I'm not a fan of this myself, but I'm just following orders," the officer glanced, and saw his daughter, and frowned, "Alexis?"

"Officer Saffic, please," the speaker said, "Don't involve your daughter."

The officer frowned, then looked at the man, "Look, mister Bean, I understand your concerns; heck, I share them, but for the sake of keeping this from getting any uglier, please stand down until we have verification. You knew bringing in the 'restrain the freaks' guys was going to be a problem."

"Yes, I did, but they have a right to be heard."

"Never said they didn't, but they're a volatile bunch. Look, we just need time to find out what's going on."

Mister Bean sighed, and finally said, "Alright, but anyone who wants to remain here so we can continue after should be allowed to stay."

"Figured; you and everyone else can stay, this should only be a short thing. Apologies for the inconvenience."

XX

**Stoppable Residence**

Tim's heart was beating faster as the remaining four mob members advanced in, carrying bats and one had what looked like a modified squirt gun; _If that's carrying homemade chemicals..._

"We're screwed," Jim said to complete the thought as they were backed into a corner.

"Hikka-bikka-boo?"

"Hoosha..."

One of the mob members moved towards Hana, saying, "Easy, baby, we're just sending you back home to C- HOLY SHIT!"

Everyone turned, jaws dropping as Hana grabbed the man with the squirt gun and flipped him like a rag doll, crashing him _through_ the floor into Hana's room below. That was all the distraction Jim and Tim needed as they rushed the nearest mob member, tackling him together and trying to force his arms down as the other two mob members went for Hana.

It was over before it began, and it _scared the shit_ out of the Tweebs, literally, making them wet themselves. Hana looked up as the first one swung his bat down, and grabbed it, with a simple shove sending the man backwards into the wall... and knocked open the Flippies CD, which started playing...

_THEN_ all hell broke loose for the remaining mobsters as Hana kept dancing around the two as they tried to swing their bats at her. She ran across the walls, one of the mob members asking, "What the hell? This is just... _wrong_!"

XX

Steve Barkin groaned, opening his eyes as he saw Officer Hobble, decked up in full SWAT gear with an assault rifle in his hands, rushing in and slamming the door open as a riot-shield and baton armed officer followed up behind him, "Officer!" Barkin said as he pushed himself up, "The Stoppable's adopted..."

"We know!" Hobble shouted as he ran up, Barkin limping up behind...

And when they got upstairs, Barkin nearly fainted again as he saw it:

They had climbed up over the stunned mobsters, but they didn't expect to walk in to see _Hana_ taking the last mob member standing, who'd evidently hurled the Possible twins (whom Barkin assumed were babysitting) into the closet, and was literally _thrown _across the room. It was a scene of chaos recently ended, damage across the room... and the Flippies CD was still playing, but Barkin could hardly hear it in his shock.

"Sweet. Mother. Of. _Mercy_." Hobble said slowly, jaw dropping so wide it must of unhinged.

"That is one tough baby..." Barkin added, gaping as Hana waved, making a cute little noise, seeming _oblivious_ to the violence that had occurred. The Possible twins stumbled out of the closet, shaking their heads in disbelief as they realized what had happened, then fainted. Barkin almost followed as he realized that if he stayed at Middleton High long enough, he just might have to teach _her_... and after Ron and now the twins? He'd rather defect to the communists.

XX

**Australian Outback**

Kim checked the map on her wrist Kimmunicator, and saw something ahead; ruined buildings, like a small complex. As they closed in, she shouted over to Monique, "Alright, going to stop over by the ruined wall to the left!"

"Right!" Monique answered, terror in her voice from the speed. Kim turned to the left, and with a small skid, she came to a halt. Monique's landing wasn't so smooth, and she wound up sliding off, the land surfer hitting the ruined wall and landed to the side, slightly battered but still usable. Kim propped the surfer against the wall she stopped next to and helped Monique up. "You alright?"

"Yeah... think so, just a scratch." Monique answered as she was pulled up, and as she dusted off, she added, "It was a cool way to travel, though. If a bit freaky."

Kim chuckled, the two taking their helmets off and leaving them on the sails, then looked at the ruins. They were dusty and built with some sort of sand-colored stone, and most of it had collapsed over time, rotted wood in odd angles in the main structure. She checked Wade's tech scan of the area; nothing but rubble, but there was something weird coming from below, deep underground. She glanced at Monique and said, "Well, might as well." The two entered the ruins, stepping over piles of rubble as they made their way towards a central building the ruins, what seemed to be a rectangular structure with a small tower on the side. Kim couldn't help but shake a feeling that she was being watched. Spontaneously, she recalled her fight in Go City with 'Prophet' John, and his speech about destiny.

"Monique, be careful," she said, "I got a feeling there's something about this place..."

"Looks like a bunch of cut rocks to me." Monique answered as she stepped over a fallen, rotted support beam. A tumble and crash was heard, and Kim heard Monique gasp.

She reacted quickly, leaping over and grabbed Monique by the belt, leaping again and pulling Monique away from the collapsing roof, the two landing roughly in a corner next to a moldy wooden crate as the collapsing roof boards hit the ground, followed by a few stones. Monique was breathing hard as she realized how close she was to being crushed like an insect, "Thanks Kim... that was..."

"No big," Kim answered, glancing around as the dust settled, spotting something... "Hey, look, over there." she pointed. "That looks important."

"Yeah, maybe," Monique said, pushing herself up. As the two stepped over, she commented, "You know, it always looks so easy on TV..."

"It is if you know what you're doing," Kim commented offhandedly as she pushed an old crate out of the way before stepping over what looked like a decomposed marsupial. Monique shivered audibly and said "Ew, gross..." as she followed. They reached over a pile of rubble and Kim realized what she'd seen as she landed next to it. To her surprise, it looked like it was a normal wall, but the stone was a distinct shade brighter. She frowned, trying to figure out what it was, and glanced around for a pressure plate or something to activate it. She placed her hands on various stones, trying to find the trigger stone. She frowned as she couldn't find one. "Alright, that's unusual. Maybe this was nothing..." she glanced around, and noticed that the area seemed stable. To be sure, she took a few cautious pushes on the nearby stone and rubble, making sure it held. One of the stones, of another shade in the floor moved down as she stepped on it. It was a pressure plate. She glanced at the door, and it started to retract, but didn't go all the way.

"That's something, at least." Kim commented, "Monique, how far in does it go?"

"Can't even fit a pencil in there," she answered. Kim nodded, stepping off, the wall returning to its original position. Monique asked, "So what's the plan? Blast it in?"

"No," Kim said, rubbing her chin as she thought, "I didn't bring anything that'd go through these walls. Besides, that'd probably bring the place down on us."

"Oh, good point." Monique answered, frowning and pulling out a compact, checking her hair as Kim paced, thinking.

_Alright,_ Kim thought, _I brought Monique because it needed two..._ She continued to pace, trying to think of why two would be needed. _Doubt it's because of dangers, but that might of been when this thing was in its prime._ She tried to think of why else an ancient temple would have defenses requiring two different people, one of which without any form of powers. "I don't get it." she finally said, "The only reason I can think of having a second with me right now is so someone could haul me out of some challenge if it went south, but that's nothing they'd need to really write down in some ancient-fate-prophecy whatever scroll."

"I dunno either," Monique said as she checked her earrings, "Maybe the proph dudes were paranoid or had some team fetish."

"Team... team..." the word played in Kim's head as she thought about it. It felt odd, that word. In the past, she'd fought most of her battles solo, the teaming with Ron usually equated to her handling the henchmen while Ron went to put a spanner in the bad guy's works... but for some reason, that wasn't why she was thinking of 'team' at the time.

She glanced at the pressure plate again, and frowned. _Alright, team... a pressure plate..._ she tried to think of what else would be useful. _Wait a second,_ she thought as it hit her. "That's it!" she exclaimed, "Monique, look around for another pressure plate, I think there's another one around here somewhere. It takes two to open."

"Wait a minute girl, if it takes two to open, what happens when we get off?" Monique asked, and Kim paused, thinking it through.

"Probably stays open for a while, so its best you stick to the close one, I can move quickly enough."

Monique shrugged, "Alright."

They began poking around; carefully as to avoid further collapses. Kim walked towards the tower, frowning as she walked into it...

It was mostly intact, and easily was about five feet in diameter, with a roughly two foot circular object being suspended above by chains that were in surprisingly good condition. _Maybe a wizard did it or something,_ she decided, realizing that it was, literally, a vertical climb up. For most, that'd be a problem, but she had a grappling hook. She drew and aimed, firing...

Only for the hook to hit and _shatter_ as it impacted, metal fragments raining down as Kim shielded her face with her arms, gaining several new cuts on her left arm, her hairdryer grappling hook clattering on the ground as she dropped it. She blinked, surprised as she looked up at the unscathed stone. Picking her grappling hook up, she cycled to the next grapple it had, glad that Wade found a way to store a few back up grapples in the hairdryer. _Alright, guess they thought of that,_ she irritably thought as Monique asked if she was alright. "I'm fine," she called back, holstering the hairdryer, "But I think I found something; hang on..." She braced herself, taking a deep breath to ready herself, putting her back to the wall, and ran towards the other side, leaping up, pushing herself off, and repeated the move quickly before she lost traction. After four of the wall jumps, she grabbed the top, and pulled herself up towards it. "Yes!" she said triumphantly as she pulled herself up somewhat, feeling a switch, and she smiled, grabbing it and pushing it down. She heard a solid 'click', and the stone chains began to lower, enough that didn't have to worry about her landing as she dropped down. Monique was standing on the pressure plate, and the door opened. Kim quickly maneuvered over the rubble, landing next to Monique, "Alright, let's head on in."

Monique stepped off, commenting, "Nice one, Kim, you sure you got all that from cheer practice?" The pressure plate stayed down as she stepped off.

"Positive," Kim answered with a smile as they entered.

The passage they opened lead to a set of stairs, which took a sharp turn down and curved under. Kim glanced around for a handy torch, and grabbed one held in a bracket. She struck its head along the ground, hoping to ignite it, but without luck. She fished in her pocket, and pulled out her lighter, unlocking it, and with a simple flick to turn it on, the torch leapt to life, a steady flame burning, giving them a light source as they continued down the cobweb covered, dusty, and crumbly-looking stairs, arches fitting the same descriptors regular as they followed the stairs as it started to turn. She flipped the lighter off and put it back in her pocket, making sure it was locked.

"So what's this prophecy stuff?" Monique asked as they continued down the now-circular stairs.

"Something about some ancient supervillain, far as I can tell." Kim answered, "Said that there'd be a champion opposing him... usual stuff for this kinda thing."

"And it means you?"

"Apparently," Kim said as they came down to a short hall before another set of stairs, a few murals visible. Kim held the torch to one; some female figure with a flaming sword was surrounded by a ring of fire, which seemed to be blowing away a group of ghost-like creatures that looked like mutated wild animals (particularly common predators like wolves). The obviously had control of the flames. Kim frowned a moment, as if the figure seemed familiar. The armor she wore was of a dark red, full plate mail that was tight and looked durable; she wore a helmet that reminded Kim of an Ancient Greek helmet of similar color save only the eyes were opened, and as she looked closer, she could make out green eyes, an uncanny resemblance that sent a shiver down her spine. She moved to the next mural; it looked like the same woman, except hurling a fireball, rather than using the sword. "Looks like this place has history, though." Kim commented as they saw another mural; looked like it was some sort of battle. She could make out hundreds of soldiers, of at least two differing and warring factions, both having a number of figures that seemed out of place; more of the ghost-like creatures, demonic-like creatures... it was like a recreation of some scene in a fairy tale straight from Brothers Grimm with an extra helping of gore, ridiculously large armies, and mythological beasts. _Looks like the stuff in those games Larry or Ron play..._ she mused, using the Kimmunicator to take a few scans of the murals.

Monique shrugged as she looked at it, "Ugly dudes here, but I guess ancients can't be helped at this point. Well, let's hope that this proph thing is just someone getting high like the Romans did _their_ so-called prophecies. Worse case worse, you punch it out, right?"

"Yeah," Kim said with a faint smile as they moved down the next set of stairs, the thought of her punching some giant monster out becoming visualized as she shook her head faintly. "Doesn't sound like anything unusual to me. I mean, world's always doomed if you consider how often Drakken's threatened the free world."

"Heh, I guess."

XX

**Central Africa**

Shego walked out of the portal, Generalissimo next to her; he seemed to be pleased. She shook her head, "So how'd that happen?"

"You used time travel; a luxury you don't have this time around, but then again, you had to build from scratch, not pre-prepared arsenals." he answered, "It won't be easy either way, but you have quite a few advantages. It's likely attrition will wear down your main opposition over time, which means you can wait for that ideal moment to strike."

"I still haven't said I'm following through," she pointed out, "I'm just figuring _you_ out."

He paused, then nodded, "So be it. You'll find similar arsenals to the ones you've already found around the globe. I'll let you leave with the location to one that has a few other locations; what you do with it is your choice."

She nodded, "Right. Maybe Dr. D can use it." The two were walking down the steps now, and she asked, "Out of curiosity, why me, besides, ya'know, I'm probably the most aware villain around?"

"Rather you than the cheerleader and buffoon."

Shego stopped, "What?"

"Some alternate timelines are... scary, from what I have gathered. Fortunately averted, of course; time rectifies itself when there is manipulation."

The mental image she was getting now, as she thought of it, of Kim being a villain... it honestly _scared the crap_ out of her; she didn't scare easy, but she knew how ugly things could get if Kim was a villain. This was magnified when she remembered the _sidekick's_ evil side, and coupling that with his new powers... she shivered. She didn't vocalize it though, instead saying, "Yuh-huh, sure. So why aren't you just doing this yourself? You obviously have the tools, and by the sound of it, it wouldn't take much effort on your part to activate it."

He smiled simply, "Because I'm merely an _echo_; a creation of an alternate timeline that was destroyed so the mainstream can continue unabated. I am, in a sense, the timeline incarnate; I could take the guise of anyone..." as he said it, he glowed, shape shifting into Kim Possible, clad in some grey outfit with combat boots, shoulder guards, and wearing some glowing-blue wrist watch likely from that timeline, much to Shego's disgust, amplified by having Kim's _voice_ too, "...from that timeline, but I chose the shape of a forgotten general, to play on the style of..." he shifted into someone who looked like Drakken's ex henchman Lars, just clad in a variation of Shego's suit, voice to match, "... classic villainy. I am bound by rules, you see, while I can influence this timeline, I cannot directly interfere." With that, he shifted back to his original form of that forgotten general.

"Wait a second, isn't setting up those arsenals direct interference?"

"It could, but if you consider the chronomancers you met are also technically interfering by providing the prophecy in the _first _place, what I'm doing is mild in comparison."

"Arsenals of weapons instead of a sheet of paper with a bunch of words people'll ignore because they don't believe in that stuff? Yeah, I can buy _that_ as being less direct."  
"A prophecy has purpose, to warn of an upcoming event, my arsenals? They are the tools of the villain whom use them for their own goal, not one specific goal. A loophole."

"But you have a goal, to assert your... 'timeline' onto the 'true' one," she counterpointed as they stood by the entrance, thinking she had a rough idea, but this was getting over her head. _Maybe Drakken would understand better..._

"And the chronomancers want a battle between two specific people with powers. Well, to be blunt, they aren't getting that unless some Conclave fools decide to try and force it on someone. Punch line? Trying to, for desire of better terminology, impregnate someone with those powers is like stabbing them with a blade the size of their heads. It takes serious will to survive the process unless they already have the ability to use the powers; and such has become too diluted to exist anymore. They don't even know it, _they've never tried it_, because they believed the theory that one capable of wielding power would be born, with the power pre-installed or able to gain it easily. Certainly, many with magic are born regularly, some chosen ones of prophecy, others not, but the one they're looking for... well, that's not happening. Humanity shouldn't be under the boot heel of some magic freak who thinks humans need guidance, we should make our own destiny."

"Whoa, what are you talking about?" Shego said, putting her hands up, "You're going into territory I don't even recognize."

"Ah... I'm sorry. Allow me to summarize, then; you see, various artifacts of time travel were created by a group, known as chronomancers, so that alternate timelines could be explored. Each one was designed with a failsafe to erase that timeline by _destroying itself_ from existence in the first place, maintaining a stable time loop. Echoes such as myself are created from that process, as we're a sort of log for their research. Locations such as this temple are also locked, as locations where those alternate timelines can mesh and the chronomancers could gather the knowledge of these divergent timelines, and we echoes have faint recollections of other manipulations. Time has a funny way of rectifying itself, but they were all made to end influence, as far as the 'true' timeline is concerned, at the end of the next year, so there is a four year period for time to lock and things to happen without temporal manipulation."

"You still haven't told me _what_ is coming?"

"You might call him the 'god' of magic for want of a better term, a supremacist. I would gladly reveal his name, but the same magics that allow me to _exist_ and tell you of this in the first place also keep me from revealing it. It is, according to those chronomancers, '_something that time travel shall not interfere with, or shall it's echoes_', to quote the one who learned from me. I really hate that," he clenched his fist, "Sounds odd, doesn't it? I seem to be manipulating this timeline with the one I essentially _am_, yet hate the original manipulators."

"It does seem a bit hypocritical," Shego commented with a shrug, "But I'd hate being used as a glorified piece of paper. So what do _you_ want to see?"

"Humanity give the biggest delivery of '_screw you, destiny'_ there is to those chronomancers. Humanity is like a dulled sword right now; it could be so much more, but it's been grinded down. A strong leader is needed. Someone who's aware of what'll happen, willing to play dirty as needed, yet can support and _understand_ principles that will attract people. It's only a matter of time before things become bad enough that a half-charismatic man or woman could gain follows by bringing promises of strength, unity... really, just rebuilding. And if history is any indication, that won't end well if many arise in close succession."

This played an interesting tune in Shego's head, _take over the world has its own promise, but to shut some pompous asses who think we're a bunch of idiots who need to be lead by a leash? I like the sound of that even better._ Then the likely aftereffect hit her; "Yeah, and leave me handling cleanup, not just so the 'blade' as you say is fixed, but also people like Possible or my brothers trying to stop me."

"That may be for the best; an opponent is always valuable in making yourself look legitimate. Obviously proof of this prophecy can't come to be shown as there is currently a lack of hard proof... but a resistance?"

"Who needs more enemies when I'd already have the various punk gangs that'd tear at any sort of new order?" she answered, "Nuh-uh, I'm not being suckered into this."

He sighed, "I suppose I can't convince you. However, you may as well let your employer, Doctor Drakken, employ it. Unless you'd rather someone like say, Dementor try and possibly win."

She scowled, then said, "Yeah, alright, fine, I'll let Dr. D know, but I'm not suckering him into anything."

Generalissimo nodded, "I guess that's all I can ask. Just consider what you saw... and watch the world as it crumbles. Things will become clearer soon enough... but now is the time to act."

"Right..." she said, "Well... have fun echoing, or whatever..."

XX

**Unidentified Ancient Ruins**

**Australian Outback**

Kim frowned as they reached the bottom, entering a large catacomb structure that looked like a supervillain lair that the necrophilia-based villain_ Mannichus_, who was obsessed with creating an 'undead army', would be comfortable in. He didn't have any luck with a _single_ undead minion, since Kim foiled him in the summer between junior and senior year, and he was still in Cell Block D.

The architecture of these catacombs were plenty of support beams, some chipped, but looked to be in oddly good repair, meaning the catacombs, if nothing else, was reliably stable. The beams also sported torch brackets, which seemed to be on cardinal points if her sense of direction was any indication.

"Whoa, that shouldn't even fit down here," Monique said, "Way too difficult to build, girl..."

"Yeah, a lot of lairs fit that description." Kim responded as she moved the torch towards the wall, to try and look for inscriptions or anything. There was just a fancy pattern on the wall, hexagonal in shape, which was copied on the floor. It didn't seem like anything special to her, and she nodded. The two walked through the large catacomb, which was suspiciously empty.

"I got a bad feeling about this," Monique said, shivering, "Way to creepy."

"Come on, I've dodged through a death-trap laden temple, and that was in freshmen year." Kim answered, "There's nothing to worry about..." Immediately after, she heard a swift grinding sound and a surprised yelp from Monique. Kim whirled around, just in time to see a trapdoor close. "Monique!" she shouted, then she heard flames igniting repeatedly, and looked around; the torches were all lighting at once, as if by magic. She heard footsteps, and turned.

"_So,_" said some figure that walked up, covered in thick robes, "_They send here a woman without power; can't say I'm not surprised, many women I knew were tenacious fighters, but she isn't even escorting one with power. How... tragic."_

"What'd you do to her?" Kim asked harshly, throwing the torch aside to enter a combat stance, ready to beat the _ancient_ out of this creep.

"_She will be fine, and will not be harmed._" the figure said, his voice echoing mysteriously. Kim would of rolled her eyes at the cliché if it weren't for the fact Monique was in danger. She glanced around, and saw medium-sized robot-like things slightly bigger than her marching up. The light let her get a good look at them; they were hollow, and it looked like they were suits of animated armor. _Alright, magic of some kind then,_ she decided, since tech answers to creating such necessitated robotic bodies, wiring, and such on the inside, there was only mist inside from the open joints she could spot. Each suit was carrying a single thirty inch long sword, but lacked anything else for weaponry. Two armors behind the figure were carrying crossbows, a quiver of additional bolts visible on their hips.

"Where is she?" Kim demanded again.

"_She is... in the back._" Additional torches lit in the distance, revealing Monique being pushed up from below on a pedestal, which halted when it became level with the cage she was now stuck in. Kim ran forward, leaping over the figure, sprinting for Monique.

"_Ah-ah-ah! She is only here to witness now."_ Crossbow bolts ricocheted off nearby stones, as if to get her attention, but Kim ignored them, leaping over one bolt that was likely shot _at_ her, arching her back as she leapt sideways to do so, then rolling to dodge a second one. She was half way to Monique when she heard rumbling, stone barriers rising. Kim leapt over the first one, rolling as she hit the ground and as she leapt to the second one, she got through with barely an _inch_ to spare. No further barriers rose, and Kim sprinted over, "Monique! Hang on!"

Monique had grabbed the hair comb boomerang, and was trying to use it to cut the bar. Kim leapt forward, only for a final barrier to rise just before she reached Monique, a gap visible, with some orange energy field in the way. Kim hit it head on as she'd tried to leap through as it formed, but the impact knocked her up and back, causing her to skid. She looked around, and saw some button rise on the other end...

"_I suppose, however, I might as well let you have what she was carrying..."_ said the figure, appearing behind her, flanked by the animated armors. Monique's backpack suddenly landed next to her, and Kim growled, taking the boomerang from it and putting it in her pocket. She would of grabbed the med kit, but she figured she wouldn't be able to use it. She slid her backpack off and grabbed the holographic projector, putting it in her other pocket. She looked daringly at the figure and said coldly, "Alright, throw your challenges at me, but if you hurt her, I'll use you to redecorate the place."

The figure nodded, completely unfazed by her threat, "_I suppose the rest you're leaving in there isn't for battle, then..."_

The two backpacks disappeared, landing next to Monique, and the barriers lowered... the figure chanted deeply, light rising around him. And in a flash of light, they were teleported to the beginning of the catacombs. The figure paced briefly, looking at her as she took a neutral stance, holding her arms loosely by her side and her feet were shoulder length apart. Kim couldn't make his face out; shadow seemed to cover all but his chin, which was an unusual color, likely tanned. _But then again, I doubt he got UV's down here..._ her thoughts were cut off as he began to make statements.

"_Fit, battle-hardened at a young age, willful, proud, sometimes to arrogance,"_ he said as he continued his evaluation with what seemed to be a positive tone, walking up and poking her right arm with a finger that felt almost _claw_ like, "_Lean, bit small on the muscle side, but that is not a problem in this art..."_ He then glanced at her outfit, "_Clothing made of typical materials of the era..."_ He returned to his position, and turned to face her, inhaling. "_You're an impressive human specimen, Kim Possible... a clear cut above the average, and it is small wonder that you can stand up to what you do, a positive factor."_

_What else does he want to tell me?_ she thought drolly, then said breezily, "Well, as I told GJ, my genes rock. Rocket scientist dad, brain surgeon mother, ex-commando grandmother, well, I could list a lot."

The figure chuckled, "_Ah, good, confidence."_ He took a more serious tone, as if evaluating something deeper, _"But even these genes do not explain your ability to take on those with unusual powers, magically-based or not. Worse, you lack the innate ability to use magic yourself. And you consider yourself worthy for the destiny ahead?"_

"I'm just here investigating," Kim answered, "Because some ancient dudes gave Ron a scroll that basically said '_Possible, come here for destiny_' and I beat some guy who thought he was supposed to challenge me to make sure I was good enough to step up, so here I am."

The figure sighed, "_Ugh; so they think you're the one to be in the opposition? Well, I suppose it'd be fitting in its own way, but without powers, it's nothing more than token defense... a valiant stand, for sure, but ultimately futile."_

"Hey, if some creep wants to take over the world and impose something on us, they can kiss that plan goodbye, I've stopped a hundred of those schemes at least. This won't be any different."

"_On the contrary, I suspect that you will_lose_. This temple was created to test the potential champion, and the challenges ahead will force you to either discover your powers, or they shall cull you from the mortal coil_._ And if you're the only one those chronomancers think will be a candidate, then your culled life will mean a swift victory._"

Kim wasn't fazed at all by the death potential, "Bring it."

The figure clapped his hands together, and the torches suddenly went out. She closed her eyes; letting them adjust to the darkness, and listened... she heard clanking footsteps...

She ducked, a blade swinging to where her neck was a second ago, and she brought her leg around as she was on the floor, tripping the suit of armor, but her leg was in pain from the contact with metal armor. She ignored it as she opened her eyes, still adjusting to the darkness, but she could faintly make out the shadows. One of the suits was in front of her, and she kept her head low, tumbling into it and knocking the sword out of its hand, if the clatter she heard was any indication. She landed on top of it and kept running, hearing a bolt discharge, and was nearly shot in the chest, the bolt grazing her shoulder. Grunting from the pain as it seared through, she felt herself stumble into one of the poles, and flipped out her lighter, grabbing one of the torches. The lighter, turned on, gave her some light, and she could make out a suit of armor advancing. Ducking under its swing, she kicked it in the back, causing it to knock into the pole and fall backwards. She lit the torch, and saw two of the suits advancing on her. She swerved to the right, avoiding the swing of the swords, strikes that were like uppercuts. She passed the torch along other brackets. _My edge is going to be getting illumination on this sitch, since the suits seemed to be able to see in the dark,_ she thought as she lit the torches.

She heard the discharge of another crossbow bolt and was barely able to get out of the way before it pinned her into a wall. She saw the crossbowman and hurled the torch she had into it, hitting the suit of armor, the torch bouncing into a joint. To her surprise, it started to run around, as if its heart or something had been set on fire. She didn't care if it was realistic of the armor or not, she lit another torch with her lighter as she continued dodging the suits of armor. She lit another torch, and slid the lighter into her pocket, off.

"_Technically, I could say you were cheating, but if you channel fire powers through that device, I suppose it's passable..."_

Kim grinned as she had enough light to go on the offensive, briefly; she rushed at the suit of armor, sliding around and grabbing it by the wrist, jamming it a way it wasn't supposed to go, and caused it to drop the sword with a bone-breaking push, though the animated armor still retained capabilities, as a sturdy punch as she released the grapple knocked her back. She ducked under the other armor's swing, and came up under the one she disarmed, forcing it to the floor, and ended up on top of it. She slid out of the way as two other suits moved in to attack, their blades cutting into and, far as she could tell, ending the suit she'd knocked down. Another crossbow bolt discharged, missing as Kim dodged, the bolt instead taking an animated armor that tried to flank her, sending it tumbling into the unlit darkness. She saw the remaining suits coming at her from the front, and drew her shock stick...

With a flip of the switch, the electricity arc sped through; causing each one to, as if out of a cartoon, hold their arms out shaking, before collapsing into piles, as if whatever had animated them within was knocked out. Only one crossbow armed armor suits was left. She ducked as the first one fired, the bolt missing cleanly. She ran forward, dodging the second crossbow bolt, leaping up with a split, the bolt passing between her legs. She landed and rolled forward, reaching the crossbow armor suit. She grabbed the crossbow, and with a sturdy tug, she pulled the crossbow away. Kim hurled the crossbow away, grabbed one of the bolts from its own quiver, and jammed it into the faceplate of the helmet, causing the armor to twitch, before collapsing, useless. She stood up, looking for the mysterious figure. She saw him walk up from the shadows, and gave him a brief confident nod, saying, "No big."

He scoffed, "_Impressive, few could survive that without magic. But this will be a better indicator if you actually have magic, or not..._"

She glanced around, and saw that while the rest of the torches reignited, a passage directly towards Monique created with the walls rising. She knew from experience with deathtraps that this wouldn't just be a forward run. She was right; immediately, blades started cutting through at irregular patterns, and jets of fire shot off from the floor. _It's no McHenry, though,_ she thought as she recalled her first mission. _This shouldn't be too hard..._

"_It is your move._" the figure said, a hand held out, Kim made note of its unusual skin tone and the claw like nature of his hands. This man, whatever he was, wasn't human... or at least, a full human. _Maybe some sorta mutant like Gill..._ The thought left, however, as she readied for the challenge ahead.

She inhaled, taking a deep breath to prepare herself.

And Kim ran forward, swift as a coursing river. A blade sliced down from the ceiling; she leapt over the blade as it hit the ground. A jet of flame launched forward; she dodged it with a swift sidestep. A whirling blade came out from the floor, spinning like a top of doom itself as blades sliced horizontally near her. To that, she cart wheeled forward at it, before launching herself into the air over the whirling blades, rolling and somersaulting out of the way of additional jets of flame and more swiping blades swung at her as she landed. A line of flame jets fired at rapid, split-second intervals at random; she leapt through, rolling as she hit the ground to put out the brief singing she got to the back ends of her pants, putting it out, and leapt over a burst of darts. She heard a surprised gasp from behind, as if the figure testing her couldn't believe it even though he saw it with his own eyes.

She reached the end of the course, and turned around, seeing the flame jets still firing off as a wall segment rose and began to rush forward. She heard the figure tauntingly state, "_That barrier has an off switch at the other side... of course, if you truly have power, then ignite a ball of fire to hurl through. The barrier is disabled by flame, and a hurled fireball will retain the strength to hit the switch."_

Kim looked up, seeing the orange barrier again. She glanced back; she didn't have much time...

But she _didn't_ have magic... she gulped, eyes widening as she realized just how screwed she was if she really _was_ in over her head...

She punched at the barrier, to no luck, the barrier knocking her backwards. Knocked to her back, she glanced back at the closing in barrier, which was almost on her as she pushed herself back up...

_Wait... fire! That's it!_

She grabbed the torch off of a nearby mount, and hurled it through, the flame first seeming to allow the torch to bypass, but the back end of it was caught, and split off, as if snapped. The head of torch got through however, and it hit the floor switch, pushing it like a button it as it crashed and burned out. "Yes!" she said, rushing forward and leaping through the dissipated barrier as the wall it was mounted on moved away, not wanting to risk the barrier returning. She looked up, and saw another barrier past flame jets. She dodged the horizontal bursts, and grabbed another torch from its wall bracket, hurling it through the barrier flame first...

…only for it to hit and shatter. "Huh?" she asked, then she glanced behind after hearing a _poof_ and seeing a cloud of smoke in her peripheral vision.

"_That was an interesting trick, but it only works once..._"

She grunted in annoyance, trying to think. _Come on... loop hole... loop hole..._ she paced, aware that she only had another minute if she was lucky. _Fire seems to dissipate the barrier... I need to get flame through with something solid in the middle so it can hit the switch. Alright, a torch won't work, he caught that one... wait a minute, the comb... that's it!_

She ripped part of her shirt, the sleeve from the shoulder she'd been hit by a bolt earlier, and wrapped it around the boomerang comb quickly, putting it in a lit torch. The comb began to burn, and, praying it worked, hurled the comb through. It sped through, hitting the switch and opening the second barrier.

"_WHAT?_" the figure shouted in shock.

She didn't wait; catching the comb on the return as she charged forward, dodging the deadly strikes of a large axe-head pendulum, and hurled it through the final barrier, removing the last wall as the comb hit the switch. She leapt through, and the closing wall crushed the pendulum, and halted where the final barrier was. She was near Monique now, easily five yards away, the cage still up. Monique was looking at her, jaw dropped at what had just happened. Kim glanced down, and noticed a rune pattern that she was standing in the middle of... she turned, and saw the figure appearing in another flash of smoke, she really hated teleporters who didn't have a known limit. He removed his hoot, and revealed a face that had clear human basis, but traces and almost ridge-like lines indicated something else... almost like scales.

"_So,_" he said, his voice still having an echo, "_You bypassed the tests with... what is that magic?"_

"A little thing called ingenuity," Kim answered, glancing at the makeshift burning rag as it slid off the comb, the sharp teeth of the comb having hacked away at it in midair as it spun. The flaming cloth dropped harmlessly to the side, and burned out. She eyed the figure critically, "So what's your name?"

"_You... may know me as Dragon-kin, it's the only name I know._"

"Didn't you parents give you one?"

"_Yes, given by my mother, since I never knew my father and he was killed in a battle before I was born... but... I can't remember it, only that I had one."_

"What happened to you?" she asked, frowning; she could feel some sympathy for him, even if he'd tried to kill her in those challenges. Some, but not a lot. He had tried to kill her, after all, and mocked her efforts because she evidently lacked any form of magic. A fact that suited her just fine; cool as powers were, they weren't her style. She liked being able to fight without them, it showed who she really was.

Dragon-kin sighed, "_I... I was changed, in my youth, selected for... some sort of process to hybridize and create more powerful warriors, chosen for my unusually innate link to magic."_ A grim smile formed, "_I destroyed the involved transmuters in my escape, while blinded in rage, confused."_

"Dang," Monique said in awe, "That had to make someone mad..."

He looked at her, and snorted, "_Contrary; it pleased the man who became my master, and still is, even though he's yet to return and rectify things. I serve him still, as while the process hurt and left me confused, he helped nurture me back to health, helped me gain control of my powers. I serve as his right hand, and when he was banished, in the agreement he had made with the then-forming Conclave, I was to oversee a test, so a worthy foe would be chosen to see if the time was right for his return._"

"Look, all this history is interesting, but I need it in a nutshell, I can do more research later... at this 'Conclave' thing, probably." Kim said, wanting to get Monique out of here as soon as possible; this place was too dangerous for her liking as the place started to look more and more like a villain's lair in feel as it already did in appearance.

"_So be it; I understand why you want your friend out of here quickly. There is one last test... a test of will; you will be exposed to the very power that it is believed you have, as in theory, if you passed those trials, you would of had that power._"

"Sorry to harsh your mellow, but the 'challenges' feel like anyone with the right tools could pull off; I did."

"_And that is the purpose of this final test; those without the power would _die_ if they did not possess the willpower to survive contact with it. And those with the willpower to survive become bound it the power, gaining its advantage, and thus ensuring a worthy opponent locked into destiny. What you are about to enter is known as the _catalyst_; unlike the belief of the Conclave, it actually can _give_ the powers that you, in theory, would have if you passed the tests prior."_ Dragon-kin walked up, chanting several small incantations, creating what looked like wards around himself. Then he turned, eying her, and chanted in a long voice in a language she didn't recognize. The runes below Kim's feet glowed orange with flaming power, as if being activated by the words. She took a step back, finding herself in the true center of it, and looked around, trying to get a sense of what was going on as the glowing runes began to rise...

XX

Monique watched as the freaky "Dragon-kin" guy walked up and began to chant in a language she couldn't recognize. An orange glow from the patterned runes grew around Kim, enveloping her. She winced as Kim was grabbed by it, pulled up, her veins tightly held as she struggled with it. Pained groans escaped Kim's lips as she struggled, Dragon-kin seeming to sigh.

"Kim!" she shouted, looking for a way to break the bars... she glanced around, and noticed that her earlier cutting had left a bar weak... _Here's hoping I can kick,_ she thought, and took a step back, spinning her leg into the air and kicking the wood-like bar. The ancient wood took the hit, but she smiled as she heard a crack. A second kick furthered it, and she put her body into it, pushing it physically to get out there and help Kim. She heard Kim shout something, word by word, filling with determination, but she couldn't make it out, it was like random shouts of pain...

She crashed through, and found herself on her knees, and stood up, only to feel her legs freeze.

"What the heck?" she shouted as she tried to pull her legs apart, but they were frozen together, and the rest of her body was following, limb control fading quickly... she saw Dragon-kin looking at her, and he immediately returned to the chanting.

XX

Kim felt the power _surging_, trying to force its way in. It was offering visions of power unimaginable, capable of ensuring the world's shape through it alone, through being bound by its source, it would be a small cost... so easy, to just let it in, to feel the relief as she gave herself into it. To be augmented, changed into a greater being, greater than any human.

_NO, I won't let it in!_ she thought, drawing on everything she could, memories, pride, her love for Ron, focusing on the word 'no', repeating it over and over in her head, as a drumbeat to resist. She could feel the power pulling on her, holding her by the limbs. Her heart was pounding, her ribcage straining under the pressure of resistance. Her wrists and ankle felt like someone was putting a torch to them, her feet felt like they'd been pinpricked by thousands of acupunctures. Her head was pounding like a Fourth of July fireworks display, right with the exploding fireworks. She knew she couldn't maintain the resistance for long...

"I..." she said strongly as she felt the resistance beginning to break. Dragon-kin continued to chant...

"Can..." there was a crash, and Kim couldn't see what it was, her eyes were closed instinctively as she was concentrating on surviving. The chanting briefly switched, a brief respite coming.

"Do... _anything..._" The phrase, which she'd originally used (and admitted the bagginess of) to try and get _babysitting_ jobs, that had transformed to a slogan of sorts for her heroics as she took more and more dangerous jobs, establishing herself as a hero who could save the world regularly, which she achieved by the end of eighth grade, and now it was a reminder to herself that she didn't _need_ powers to that, she didn't need to accept that kind of stuff from an outside source to fight. She could make her own power, power not based in all-powerful magic or cybernetic implants or any other such outside sources; she could fight because she had the _**will**_ to do so.

But she was still mortal; she could hear the nagging voice, that small voice that always encouraged her to beat Bonnie into the ground and then some for her attitude, the one that wanted to leave Ron when he did extremely stupid things, the one that wanted to kill the Tweebs (which she did listen to in a way, when provoked), the voice that wanted her to just finish off the villains she faced, to put it to a _permanent_ end. And it was growing stronger as the chanting returned and the respite ended, as if the possibility of power was invigorating it to new levels. She could see Shego, normally a good challenge, being blasted away effortlessly, powers able to outmatch even Ron's newfound Monkey-Kung-Fu... it was a pleasing idea, and it answered something; something she thought she'd put to the side. Jealously; oh how she felt it, how she was jealous that Ron had such power at his hands without needing to work for it. How only now he had to go train because he had a little trouble firing it. How she had wanted to stay ahead of him, to not fall behind Ron in prominence because of his _stupid_ powers.

_Ron_; that thought hit her, the love she shared with him, the times, battle and otherwise, the dates, the hilariously stupid things he could do at times, the fact that he was always there for her...

She heard a voice, but couldn't make it out... but it became stronger, suddenly shouting two letters, like a nickname... Ron's voice echoing with those two letters, the affectionate nickname he'd given her when they were in Pre-K:

_**"KP!"**_

She shouted as she heard it, the shout of a cornered animal, but with all the determination in the world to fight for some_**one**_ she loved, and the bonds of power broke as she charged without thought, and she felt herself hit someone, and heard a shout with a mild echo, and impact with the ground. Suddenly, her body ceased to be assaulted, the oppressive force leaving, her body feeling like it had never tasted such freedom before, and she opened her eyes.

XX

Monique, still frozen, watched as Kim charged headlong Dragon-kin, slamming into him, causing the mutant to stagger back, and trip over his own robes, landing on his back, gasping in horror or surprise as he spontaneously stopped chanting, his jaw dropping, eyes widening in horror.

"Yeah girl!" Monique shouted, she'd of been pumping her fist in the air if everything below her neck wasn't frozen solid, "That's the way!"

Kim didn't seem to hear her, and collapsed onto a knee, gasping for breath, and Monique horrifically realized her friend might of been permanently injured by the encounter. Dragon-kin got up, and said, horrified and angry at the same time, "_YOU!"_

XX

Kim was taking deep breathes rapidly as she tried to recover from the ordeal, looking up as Dragon-kin seethed in rage, "You... _resisted_ the power? You... you... you not only survived it, but you didn't let it incarnate itself into your blood, your destiny? _How is this __**possible**_?"

"Check..." she inhaled sharply as she pushed herself up, wishing she was above ground for fresh air as she felt her lungs radiating pain from the struggle, "My... name."

She swung a wild punch, hitting Dragon-kin in the face by accident (she was aiming for his stomach), and sent him away; he slid for a short time, then pushed himself up, scowling. "_So be it, then. I have done my duty, to test you, and you've passed all but the final test. Had you embraced the power you were _supposed_ to have, my job would of been to direct you to where you could train further and unlock those powers to their true degree, in accordance to destiny, but now... now I must destroy you, and ensure these secrets remain hidden for the true champion to come!"_

She didn't even justify him with an answer; she drew her shock stick and turned it on. The electric arc sped forward, and she anticipated him shouting in pain as electricity shot through him, but it just hit him... no, a shield around him suddenly seemed to form, arcing the electricity around a bubble-like pattern and dissipated it. She realized that his magic was protecting him from the shock stick, but not melee attacks. She rushed forward, hooking the shock stick to her belt as she charged. Dragon-kin moved his arms, as if preparing magic, a blue glow at his fingertips as he chanted...

He hurled his right first forward, and a bolt of energy sped at her, blasting her back over the rune and causing her to land in front of Monique, unaware that she was frozen by magic. She leapt back up as she heard the sound of marching boots... a dozen armored suits were coming, and they were going to attack together, this time. She moved up to the rune, so she had space to do her work.

As they moved in on her, Kim glanced around, noticing that there was a loose stone in the ceiling... she drew her grappling hook and fired at it, pulling down, the stone coming loose. Several more stones fell, and as they crashed together onto the rune circle, it created a large dust cloud, and she got to work.

XX

Monique coughed, closing her eyes as she was unfrozen, the dust starting to clear from above. She saw Kim standing there, and she wondered what Kim thought she was doing, standing still when surrounded by a dozen suits of animated armor...

She heard metallic clanking, swishes as blades were swung, metal bangs as blades met, and Kim seemed to... fizzle, like static. Another clank, and one of the armored suits fell, leaving eleven to go, swinging at Kim still. _Maybe she _does_ have powers or something,_ Monique thought as she saw what was happening. The other suits kept falling, and she heard the clash of steel and saw sparks and small bits of metal flying, and the suits of armor collapsed one by one. As the smoke cleared, she realized that she'd been suckered in just like the armors, as she saw that "Kim" was 'wearing' her _old_ outfit.

Kim hadn't been phasing through anything; she'd set up the smoke screen so that she could drop the holographic-Kim down and let the suits of armor swing at it uselessly, believing it to be her. With the smoke cleared, the real Kim Possible was visible, dropping a sword swiped from the suits of armor, and she charged Dragon-kin again. He answered by channeling magic along his arms, and Kim reacted in time, leaping backwards in anticipation of another energy blast. The magic spell or whatever completed, resulting in that Kim was now being pursued by four magical blue orbs, speeding like missiles as Kim dodged, but the missiles just turned to home in on her again. One hit Kim, causing her to stagger, and barely giving her enough time to avoid the second, third, and fourth ones. Kim leapt around, grabbing one of the supports to swing around as the projectiles followed, Dragon-kin hurling additional magical bursts, but not homing ones. Monique ducked as one of the stray ones nearly hit her. Kim leapt over and landed several feet to her right, and Monique realized she had something that could help as she ducked one of the homing missiles that had overshot on its turn. She fished in her pocket, and founded the compressed raft. She pulled it out, and hit the button. The raft expanded suddenly, causing her to drop it. As she picked it up, she shouted, "Kim! Get behind me!" and held the raft like a shield. Kim leapt over and landed behind her.

She grunted as she felt three impacts as the makeshift shield took the hits, without being penetrated. A few more hits followed, and she grinned, "Yeah! That's right!"

"Nice one, Monique," Kim said, "Keep that ready, I may need cover if he hurls the homing ones again."

"You got it, girl." Monique answered, walking up slowly, keeping the shield up. She heard a loud poof, and glanced to the side; Dragon-kin had teleported again!

XX

As Monique turned the raft shield towards Dragon-kin, Kim leapt at him, dodging a magically-created arrow of fire that nearly hit the raft. Kim suspected that the magical fires were more than capable of bypassing the raft shield. She saw Dragon-kin curse, and he raised his arms, chanting another spell, grey energy rising around him with a distinct green hue mixed in. She got in close, and with two swift strikes to the gut, she (far as she could tell) disrupted the spell, causing him to grunt mid-incantation, the magical energy (or whatever) blinking as it fizzled out. Dragon-kin snarled, but Kim continued by pounding him with her fists, before switching to her legs, several swift kicks to the chest and one to the leg knocking him onto his back, leaving him dazed, but he simply teleported a short distance away. Kim didn't bother chasing him this time; she didn't have time. She ran back to Monique shouting: "Put the raft away, we gotta move!"

Monique deflated the raft with a quick double tap of the button and put it back in her pocket. Kim handed the boomerang comb back as the two ran. Dragon-kin began chanting again, and Kim heard a howl followed by a thud, and glanced back. Something... grey had been summoned; it was wrapped up in cowls, but it was vaguely wolf-like in shape with a somewhat aberrant look, about four and a half feet tall, and began to chase them as Dragon-kin started chanting for another spell. They ran to the stairs up, only for jets of flame to ignite, nearly torching Monique, who shouted in terror as one blasted right in front of her, barely giving her time to stop. Kim pulled her out of the way as a second flame jet nearly deep-fried her. They kept going as Kim heard the whine of more magical missiles speeding after them. "Monique! Incoming!" Kim shouted as they skidded to a halt, Monique drawing the raft and inflating it, letting the missiles hit it, grunting from the impacts. The grey thing that had been summoned charged with an ear-splitting howl, and Kim kicked it as it tried to pounce, knocking it back with a solid _thud_. It looked incorporeal, but it was _quite_ solid, almost like an animal, as it knocked against one of the pillars as Monique continued to run. Kim ducked as another blast of blue energy nearly hit her, Dragon-kin snarling as fiery energy began to circle him as he continued to chant...

"Uh oh! Fireball!" Monique shouted as they reached the stairs, and Kim turned, just in time to see that yes, a fireball was coming after them. They ran up the stairs, the fireball exploding against the bottom of the stairwell, but they'd gotten far enough away to escape the explosion. They heard rumbling, and Kim glanced back; the architecture looked like it was coming apart as arches crumbled. _So another lair collapses; cliché,_ she thought grimly before shouting, "Come on!" as she pulled Monique along. They ran up the stairs, past the murals, and as they reached the top, Kim saw another of the grey summons snarling at them…

Monique, however, had thought first, grabbing the boomerang comb and hurling it, hitting the wolf-like being in the snout and causing it to whimper, preventing it from charging them as Kim leapt at it, a few swift strikes to keep it disoriented before she hurled it down over Monique, who ducked as it soared down the stairs. They ran out, leaping over piles of rubble as they hurried to escape. Behind them, they heard more crashes as they leapt out of the main structure, rolling as they landed and grunting from impact.

The crashes had kicked up considerable dust, leaving them covered in it, some getting into Kim's shoulder wound. _Fun,_ Kim thought sarcastically as they looked at their unintentional handiwork; most of the structure was still intact, but large sections of the wall had fallen in, and she had a funny feeling the door was now blocked. Kim glanced over at Monique, she seemed alright, but she was panting.

"You alright?" Kim asked.

"Yeah… but I lost the grappling hook, and both the backpacks."

Kim shrugged, "Wade can easily make another grappling hook, and the med kit isn't that big a deal." She knew Wade hadn't packed anything overly valuable, but she did wince as she realized that if something had gone wrong and they'd been stuck, they'd want the survival kit that was in her backpack. She called Wade; "Wade, you getting this?"

"_Kim! I tried to contact you earlier; I couldn't connect. What happened?"_ Wade asked, sounded scared and relieved at the same time.

"Had a run-in with ugly," Kim said, "Some sort of magic guy. Think Ron crossed with Gill, and replace the muck with fireballs and energy blasts."

Wade dropped his jaw before shutting it, grinding his teeth, then said, "_Sounds fun… anyways, that's not why I called. Jim and Tim were attacked at Ron's house, they were babysitting Hana. Some mob got it into their head to attack her…"_

"_WHAT?_" Kim shouted in horror, "Wade, are they alright?"

"_Yeah; Barkin gave me a heads-up and I was able to call in the police since you weren't around. It got ugly though; a number of hospitalizations and Barkin got an ugly semi-concussion trying to stop it."_

Kim wasn't surprised Barkin would try a stunt like that; he was an ex-US Army soldier with a definite sense of right and wrong. Still, she knew he was rusty enough not to be able to take on an armed mob single-handedly.

"What about the Tweebs? And Hana?" Kim asked, worried.

"_They're fine, just wet themselves… as for Hana, well…"_ Wade pressed a button on his keyboard, and a news report flashed up, the newswoman reporting in front of Ron's house, which had a pair of police cars outside still with an armed SWAT soldier keeping reporters out. She could make out one of the Tweebs looking out the window blinds.

"… _unusually, reports indicate that the baby, adopted by the Stoppable family early this year in late March, was able to single-handedly take down four of the mob members. Gossip suggests she has latent superpowers, not unlike what's been seen in other places in the world. What does this mean for others? Who knows, but it's clear now that destabilization continues."_

"That's not good," Monique commented as she looked over, still dusting off, "We'd better get back to town; our dads' are gonna be in a fit."

Kim nodded, "Agreed. Wade, the PBD rendezvous still good?"

"_Yeah; I'm telling them to head over now that you've finished." _Wade explained, then, as if an afterthought, he added, "_Malta's also a bit ticked that you chose Monique over a PBD soldier. Guess the Australian commander sent him a memo about it."_

"Probably for the best Wade, there was some seriously weird stuff down there. See you in Middleton." Kim glanced at Monique as Wade cut the transmission on his end. "Well Monique, what's your take on that mess?"

"Get checked, first." Monique said as they put their helmets and pads on for the land surfers, "But really, what is this prophecy stuff? Real cliché and predictable girl; a sixteen year old could probably write better."

"I just wish we got a name for that 'threat'," Kim said with a sigh, "Much easier to research something if we could put a name to it."

"Probably something cheesy like Magnus Archmagica or something really dumb like that," Monique answered with a shrug as they started to slowly land-surf away.

"Heh, I'm just glad I didn't have any stupid powers or something, pretty satisfying to do something that expects you to have superpowers or magic or whatever, without it." Kim frowned a moment, then said, "So what do you think we should tell GJ?"

"I say we just tell them the ruins had some ancient stuff that couldn't really be deciphered, and frankly, that stuff _is_ confusing. Load of junk anyways, right? I mean, how many big world-threatening things have you stopped?"

"Lost count, though half of them weren't very well thought out."

"Yeah, well, what's another to your belt? I say keep this prophecy junk on the DL."

Kim nodded, "I was hoping you'd say that. Just a load of junk; should tell Ron and Wade, but I don't see why anyone else needs to know some ancient dudes think I'm their enemy 'as destiny says'." She was deliberately mocking it at that point, "Who needs more when I have enemies like Drakken, Dementor, or Duff Killigan?"

"Yeah, you get away with serious weirdness, but I think that's hitting a topside, you know? Best leave this alone, some folks consider you odd enough without adding this layer to it." Monique added as they started to pick up speed. Kim noticed a throbbing in her side, but she dismissed it as her body being tired; she was burned there earlier, but it wasn't going to stop her from getting home. And neither was the stinging from her wounded shoulder as the dust kicked up and into the wound agitated it.

XX

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron parried the blow with the wooden sword he was wielding, in a training duel with the resident master swordsman to ensure he could use the Lotus Blade effectively when the time came for him to wield it. He blocked the blows barely, and grunted as the fifth strike in his opponent's whirlwind of attacks got through his guard and knocked him in the chest. He glanced up, the swords master nodded, "Not bad, Stoppable-san, especially considering the short time you've trained."

"Thank you," Ron said, bowing politely, "Keep practicing?"

"Always. But remember, mastery of blade technique is only a start, you must be able to use other things, your other talents, to truly be successful. That, I cannot teach you, and is for you to learn. Go, your next lesson is soon."

Ron left, leaving the wooden sword on the rack, and went into the main building, where he was finally going to start practicing magical technique beyond the basic charging and his (personal favorite) foot stomp trick. As he entered, Sensei was waiting, and said, "Before we begin, you are well aware of the rules."

Ron nodded, "My power is limited to how much energy I can bring to bear, but I have limited amounts, and I can't deplete it, or I'll seriously wound if not…" he gulped, swallowing the thought down, "kill myself."

"Good, you've been strengthening your body consistently over the years in your adventures, which will give you a form of bypass that many students do not have as they learn, but this means I will be harder on you."

"Right." Ron said, "So what's first?"

"We will review just accessing your powers first, for the foundation must be strong, or it will not matter how powerful the rest is, it would only be blown away in the wind."

And so they continued the training.

XX

**July 19****th****, 2007**

**Middleton, Colorado**

It was early in the morning when they got back to Middleton, and Kim was driving in the Sloth, to drop Monique off home before heading home herself. As they neared her house, Kim asked the still-sleepy Monique, "So, how'd you like it?"

Monique glanced up, "Huh, oh, right. Yeah, I think I was too eager, maybe in twenty years or something I can pull off something decent, but I guess nothing replaces Ron, huh?"

Kim chuckled, "Nah, no one can really replace him, but you did alright." _Still, she's right,_ Kim added silently, _she does need a lot of practice before she can really come along._

She stopped outside of Monique's house, and she got out. "See you later, Monique!" Kim said, leaning out the window as her friend walked in, waving back. With that, she drove to Wade's house (he and his mother had made up earlier), intending to get a tech scan to make sure nothing had happened to her after that odd ritual thing.

As she opened the door to her house, she groaned in pain as her side began to ache further, like someone had applied a blowtorch to it; her wounded shoulder was somewhat numb, but that was now the least of her worries as her side began to hurt more. She pushed on through, however, knocking on Wade's door.

"Kim? What's wrong?" Wade asked, surprised to see her partially bent over as he opened the door.

"Think... that burn... got deep." Kim answered as she entered, "No big, just..." she grunted, "Painful, that's all."

Wade nodded, "I'll get a tech scan, Dementor's grenades use some unusual compound for the detonation sequencer anyways, maybe seeing skin burned by it will help."

"Glad my pain helps science, Wade," she commented with some sarcasm as she checked the burn; it was red, but it wasn't, from what she'd gathered, a dangerous degree of a burn. Wade grabbed his scanner and scanned her whole body, nodding as he scanned.

"All seems norm- uh, Kim, may wanna check this. What the heck did you get into?"

Kim glanced over at the monitor, and asked, "What is it?"

"Some weird readings... you walk into a vat of Dementor's chemicals again?"

"That was Ron, remember?"

"Oh, right. So, what _did_ you find?"

Kim explained everything that had transpired, and her desire to keep it quiet for now. Wade listened with interest, then said, "You know, Kim, I've heard whispers online about this 'Conclave' that he mentioned. But those weren't they guys Ron said had the answer."

"Wait, he told you?"

"Yeah; I wanted to wait until we could talk in person, didn't have a chance before you went to Australia. They're some sort of time guys who don't interfere, just explore alternative pathways, like scribes, know what I mean?"

"Not really." Kim answered honestly.

"Well, that's all I know too. Think we should be careful round this stuff, ya'know? I'll do a much more thorough scan, hopefully it's just impact and not going to be anything permanent, like the bruises you get from Shego's blasts."

Kim nodded, "Alright; I'll come back tomorrow after I get the burn checked. Give you time to analyze the sitch and all."

"Right. Oh, by the way, should be able to stop taking the anti battle suit radiation serum today, last one."

"Got it Wade; thanks."

"No problem; oh, could you ask Jim and Tim to send the battle suit over? We were going to do some work on it, see if we can't crack that radiation problem."

Kim nodded, "Sure, I'll let the Tweebs know."

XX

XX

**End Chapter**

**- If we look at folks like "Dragon-kin" as NPC's of a GM, Kim does a **_**really**_** good job at keeping him from railroading her ;) Of course, Kim's not a gamer, so that analogy goes out the window.**

**- For some reason I think of the goddamn protoss when I try to visualize Dragon-kin's face... no clue why. Make of that what you will; but yeah, I can see some protoss angles in his face from the augmentations he had... know what, I'll stop watching **_**Starcraft**_** briefings on YouTube when I don't have anything better to do, awesome music or not.**

**- Not too many notes; I did want to have Monique taken out for a mission; and hey, she's not a combatant, so it's not surprise she didn't actually fight, but she was hardly helpless. She's got 20 years before she has to be a badass if ASiT was any indication (snicker)**

**- Alright, prophecy is epic and all, but I think that's enough. Next chapter will scale back a bit. I'm honestly hesitant; one of my main weaknesses is I tend to jump the gun sometimes, I feel. I think I managed to yank back hard enough this time, but I guess time will tell.**

**- Hana Stoppable... I **_**know**_** I'm not the only one who feels like the baby is basically Cthulu as a baby good girl... you don't think some people would freak? Yeah, I don't wanna know what happens when she grows up...**

**- This is, I think, officially the longest chapter; about 72 pages, doubled spaced Microsoft Word 07. When I noticed this, I was basically thinking "holy shift; that's a lot"; I've decided to, for the sake of keeping overload from occurring, slapping a limit on myself to about 40 or so pages double spaced. Let's hope it works, huh?**

**- A Sitch in Time; a 3-parter episode that was pretty much a movie with a reset button ending (except Ron hating meatcakes, who knows why?). Still, when writing a continuation, taking a look at some of the tech there is always useful as it shows a **_**possibility**_** of where the characters could go. It was also a nice chance to have Shego, her 'present day' version confronted with the fact that yes, she **_**could**_** take over the world. As Joss mentioned in **_**Showdown at the Crooked D**_**; "**_but it seems to me Shego's the really dangerous one. I mean, if she put her mind to do it, she could be the toughest villain out there, don't you think?_**" And frankly, I agree. If Shego wanted to, she probably would of either taken the world over by now, or given Kim such a fight that the cheerleader would be limping after each fight. Considering Shego seems to enjoy fighting Kim, I call it professional respect, or maybe just personal honor or something. All I know is that KiGo fans see it as a **_**lot**_** more. Fair enough; they got their opinion, I got mine.**

**-= Document Recovery: GJ Report; Unidentified Australian Ruins (7/18/07)=-**

_Source: GJ Database Archives_

**GJ Report GAR-13**

Priority Rating: _Class 4_

_Filed by__: Kim Possible_

_Subject__: Unidentified Australian Ruins (July 18th, 2007)_

_Date Filed:__ July 19th, 2007_

_Report:_

_On the 18th of July, at 1800 hours Mountain Time, General Adrian Malta from PBD contacted me in regards to a lock on Professor Dementor and the sapper in Australia. He wanted me to go down there and assist in recovering it. At that time, Wade also received a copy of an ancient text speaking of some temple. General Malta believed that such was a waste of time, but it was in the end agreed that it'd be added as an after-mission mop up, and I brought Monique with me as help. The mission went off, but while we did damage, we were unable to successfully prevent Dementor from escaping with a large number of Mobile Synthodrone Production Facilities from the arsenal he was raiding in Australia._

_The mission complete, Monique and I were dropped off by PBD Corporal Timothy Smithson at a rendezvous point to make our way to the ruins themselves. Once we arrived, we found the ruins abandoned. There were still some crates, but they had rotted to nearly nothing at the time and the structure was somewhat unstable. We located a way into a subsystem of catacombs, and discovered a few murals, but the actual catacombs were mostly abandoned, though there were several booby traps that fired off on us, we only caught brief singes from flame jets. However, we did encounter one person within; a figure who identified himself by the name "Dragon-kin"; he seemed to have mutations of some sorts as his skin was of hard scale and head wasn't quite human. He displayed several powers; the ability to shoot your typical energy blast and the ability to, with some odd chanting involved, launch guided energy blasts and create fire based attacks. He also had some form of shield powers as I was unable to stun him with my shock stick once we began to fight. He did not take kindly because neither Monique nor I had any form of powers, which he seems to believe to be needed._

_Because of this clash of ideology, a fight began between the two of us. As we fled up to escape, he hurled a fireball after us, but he didn't manage to hit either of us. Unfortunately, his fireball caused a collapse of the door into the catacombs themselves. Given the unstable nature of the structure, we cleared out immediately to avoid being hurt. The superstructure of the ruins remained, but large sections had fallen out. We didn't go in to verify the passage down due to the stability, and returned to base._

_In the end, nothing conclusive was gained, but Wade has taken scans of the small wounds I suffered during the battle in case it yields anything useful about his powers that can be used in comparison to similar users. But nothing of value was lost either, so it evens out. Still, GJ should keep a cautionary eye on anything developing from this, just in case more is discovered._

**-=Document Ends=-**


	8. Chapter 8: Scale Back

_"Prophecy stuff... you know, interesting and, at times, important as it is, there were other issues, issues we had to deal with before even taking a glance at that prophecy stuff. Governments were falling apart; heck, I'm amazed GJ was able to keep things stable as long as it did, but it was going downhill fast. Middleton wasn't too bad, but everywhere there was an increase in crime as money started becoming scarce. Heck, I'm surprised we recovered at all... of course, considering what it took, I think some people might of preferred anarchy for a while..."_

- Kim, reflecting on how things began to fall apart faster in late July once she returned from her mission in Australia, as recorded in her _Liber Memoriarum_

"_What's the government doing? We have supers coming out of the woodwork and throwing our brave police officers around like rag dolls and putting even goddamn _marines_ to the floor, and the government is just ignoring it? What's going on, what's wrong with them, can't they see where this is going? Is the cost to _protect_ the food needed to fight shortages too much to pay? Is it cheaper to keep buying more food to cover the shortage as it's stolen than to pay to stop it from being stolen in the first place?"_

- Excerpt from a speech given at an "Innocents for Public Safety" meeting

XX

**Chapter 8: Scale Back**

**July 20th, 2007**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim almost swore as she ducked under the ski-mask wearing crook's swing, answering with a swift uppercut, knocking the man into the shelf full of shampoo, causing it to fall on the crook's head. He growled, grabbing a Swiss army knife from his pocket, but with one swift move, Kim was up at him, grabbing him by the wrist, and disarmed him, sending the just-opened knife into a bottle of shampoo, which spilled out (with no cranium rinse). The crook took advantage of that, however, hitting her in the back of the head with his fist and knocking her into the conditioner marketed next to the shampoo, causing it to fall onto her back and hit her burnt side, searing it briefly with flashes of pain. She grunted; turning as the crook began to run for it.

As he ran by an abandoned cart of groceries, he pulled it to obstruct her path, but she leapt over it easily and continued pursuit. The crook gasped as he saw her still on his tail, and she sprung, a cartwheel followed by a handspring carrying her forward, foot extended for a well-placed kick to his back, knocking him forward and causing him to slide along the floor as he was turned into a makeshift mop. Kim landed next to him, and held him down, pinning his hands with her own. She glanced up as she heard sirens, and saw a police cruiser drive up, officer Saffic getting out and he was soon flanked by a female police officer that Kim didn't recognize. As the two came in, Kim pulled the criminal up off the floor, holding his hands tightly.

Saffic nodded to her, "Thanks, Possible. Let's see who he is..." With that, he took the crook's ski-mask off (Kim noticed the price tag was still there). Once taken off, it revealed a disheveled young man with dirty blond hair. He was likely in his twenties. The female officer walked up, and Kim let go, allowing her to cuff the man and lead him into the police car while Saffic walked up to talk to the manager, who explained what had happened, and then he asked Kim to explain her part in it.

In a nutshell and correlating both their stories, the thief had come in as a normal customer, and evidently got it into his head to try and rob the store. Taking a black ski-mask from aisle twelve, he had tried to steal a variety of food, taking the basket with him. He was able to subdue the store's greeter, who managed to catch on quickly that this was a theft attempt, but not before a quick-thinking cashier turned on the theft warning system, locking the doors. Kim was there shopping, and saw the crook as he, and went at him as he tried to break the door down. The fight forced the criminal to flee, to try and remove the ski mask so he could blend in, but Kim remained on his trail and caught up to him.

As she finished, the officer nodded, "Not bad. Really glad the politicians signed that authorized vigilante bill last year; it's been rough finding excuses for you stopping these spur-of-the-moment things when you're there."

Kim shrugged, "No big, officer. It's not like he was a good thief or anything."

The manager was next to the officer, and he added, "Thanks for the help either way. Shouldn't be hard to match up an identity, I'm sending over all the video footage since that man walked into the store, should make a positive ID easier to correlate. Even if he got away, someone would of noticed the ski-mask he swiped."

Saffic nodded as he finished writing his notes, "Well then, I may wind up sending court summons as a witness, Possible, but I doubt that'll be necessary with the footage. Still possible, though."

Kim nodded, "I'll be there if you need me."

"Thanks for stopping him;" the manager said, "but it really was a _sloppy_ job, that fellow."

"Spur of the moment, as you said." she reminded him as she walked deeper into the store, looking for the cart she'd left; she was getting groceries while her parents were at work.

"True... it's a sad day when Smarty Mart prices are considered too high..." he glanced at his clock, "Well, we're probably going to have to close, so I suggest you grab some simple stuff in a basket before heading out."

"Right," Kim said, frowning as she realized the store was a mess from people fleeing the fight.

XX

**Global Justice Headquarters**

**Somewhere underground; Colorado, near the Tri-City area**

Doctor Betty Director frowned as she listened to the report from the agent in Africa, "Are you _sure_ she got what she wanted?"

"_No ma'am, I can only speculate._" the agent answered, "_We lost a couple agents as well, we had a few poison vipers come in after we were all out._"

She nodded grimly; losing agents was never easy, but GJ was at an eternal war; it was bound to happen, and had happened. It was disturbing, however, that after they recovered, there were no signs that Shego had found anything, all was normal, and scans after matched scans prior. Something was very wrong, and she needed to find out _what_ it was.

"Keep me informed on how your men are doing; we're going to sent a team down later, to do some more in-depth research on that place. GJ Command out." she ordered. The agent saluted, and the transmission ended.

She sighed, putting a hand on her desk; _We lost good men there, and they'll never be replaced._ It was hard, but she knew that in this kind of work, the only thing to do was to keep going.

XX

**Dr Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

Doctor Drakken hummed to himself as he worked, then growled as he heard the doorbell. "Coming, coming," he said, hoping it wasn't another villain trying to mock him. Before he got to the door, he made sure the flower pedals were pulled out. He still hadn't gotten full control, and it consistently vexed him.

Opening the door, he was ready for about anything. Except maybe an alien... instead, however, he saw Shego, her hover board parked nearby. "Hey, doc," she said, "I'm back."

"Shego!" Drakken said happily, "Um, yes. I've been wondering when you'd get back."

Shego walked in, glancing around, "Looks like nothing happened while I was gone... except for the usual." She had stopped, looking at scorch marks left over from an earlier lab accident. Drakken growled, walking over.

"Yes... very annoying and all. So, out of curiosity, why'd you send those Diablos?"

Shego frowned a moment, then said, "Oh, yeah. I found them near the temp lair we stayed at before Warmonga showed up again. Some guy's been hiding world domination tools for 'real villains' to find and use."

Drakken nodded, "Don't suppose it had anything to do with that trip down to Deadmerc's, did it?"

"That's how I found out about it in the first place." Shego said as the two walked down into a deeper lab. "Actually; I met the guy behind it. Calls himself 'Generalissimo'." She seemed oddly intrigued, which worried Drakken. Even if they were less employer-employee and had a budding relationship in a... closer manner, he did worry about someone outbidding her technically mercenary services.

"Who is this fellow?" Drakken suspiciously asked. "Is he like Dementor?"

"Some crazy who thinks _I'm_ going to pull off a take-over-the-world scheme. Hah, as if. That's your area, Doctor D." she answered, a snarky scoff ending the miniature rant.

Drakken was about to counterpoint, a hand raised in objection. But then he paused, realizing the arsenals _just_ might be useful... "Well, I guess I could do some scanning for those arsenals... never know, you know? Besides, might be useful."

Shego shrugged, "Whatever you say, Drakken. All I know is that some are already being cracked open. WWEE was near your old lair."

"Pfft. Gemini shmenini," he said, shaking his head as they entered the lair's lounge down the flight of stairs, "His goons can't even handle one GJ commanding officer, let alone anything serious."

Shego smirked as she sat in one of the chairs, kicking back and putting her feet on the table, "Yeah. They couldn't even control the Diablo they got online. I think it wound up torching them..."

Drakken shrugged, "Well, that's what they get for messing with technology beyond them," he paused, then realized, "Wait, I just burned myself didn't I..."

"Yeah, you kinda did doc."

There was an awkward pause, and Drakken then said, "So, these arsenals... where's a nice open one for us to check out?"

Shego paused, pulling out her flash drive and walking over to the computer, plugging it in. Drakken watched on the screen as several locations jumped at him; "oooh, those look... wow."

"We may wanna be careful though," Shego pointed out, "Chances are once we start cracking 'em, Possible is going to find out. Even if we've downgraded the villainy to annoying, she isn't going to let us slide away, is she?"

"No, she's not..." Drakken said slowly as he pondered, "But... I dunno, some of this stuff could be useful. I mean, there's a global downturn, any villain could pull off something brilliant now with all those heroes distracted..."

"Yeah, I get it. Go ahead if you want, I'll be here when the cheerleader and her sidekick come in hard." Shego seemed to pause, then she added, "Oh yeah, the sidekick's in Japan right now."

"What's the buffoon doing there?" Drakken asked in amazement, "Is this about how he stepped up?"

"Probably. Possible wasn't there, and I doubt he was sent on his own if she knew I was going to be in Japan."

Drakken paused, then smiled as he realized that Kim would be more vulnerable without Ron around to help, "Perfect."

XX

**Load Residence**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim frowned as Wade stepped out of the primary Shadow-Training module simulator. Because Wade had designed it under his house (she didn't want to know how many automatic gadgets he went through to clear enough space), it had been protected from the alien attack and emerged relatively intact, and had remained under his house relatively unused. Wade had finished patching it up before they went to Nevada, where he helped make sure the GJ simulator there was working at optimal levels, as GJ had commissioned Wade at one point to create similar for them and got the designs. As Wade stepped out, he nodded, "Hey, Kim. Tech scan?"

"Yeah," Kim answered, wearing casual clothing; green tank top and blue pants.

Wade nodded, gesturing her over, "Alright; shouldn't take long." They walked up the stairs into Wade's room proper, and he grabbed the scanning device off of his workbench. As he scanned, he nodded, "All normalizing, Kim." he said with a smile, "Looks like whatever hit you was just residue, nothing intrusive."

Kim breathed a sigh of relief; she didn't like the idea of exposure to magic having a permanent effect on her and changing who she was at her core. "Thanks Wade. You know anything about this residue stuff?"

"No," Wade said as he turned to a computer, typing in a password quickly and bringing what looked like scan data up. She couldn't make out much of it as Wade explained, "However, it shows signs of an unknown energy residual. It's not something that's _unheard_ of, but it's so rare that it had to be magical impact. That guy you fought down there was a bona-fide magic user if these scans say anything. If there's any lasting effects, I can probably whip something up to fix it, no problem."

Kim nodded, "Thanks Wade. So, any news from Ron?"

"No; he hasn't been able to get access to a computer yet; I'm guessing they're training him pretty hard up there." Wade frowned, "Kind of disappointing, really..."

There was a low beeping sound; Kim glanced at a monitor which had her site visible, and Wade walked over, and nodded, "Kim, better suit up. There's a robbery going on at Lowerton Community College."

"On my way," she said, hurrying out the door.

XX

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron smiled as he felt his magic charging through, slamming his foot into the ground. He was in a small area outside of the school itself, which was used for more... explosive training, as to avoid accidents. The aftershock burst forward in short blasts, reminding Ron of small explosions as they blew away the combat dummies, shredding the poor, defenseless (and innocent) straw filled buckets that were set up in a two-by-four column ahead of him. He closed his eyes after the explosion, inhaling deeply, and exhaling, letting him feel the drain the magic took.

"Good, understand the drain so you do not forget it." Sensei said as he watched from a small rise that was built from the various cleared dirt to make the circular arena, so an instructor could watch with some protection if magic or more explosive practice went wrong. The drain was not considerable, but Ron had a feeling it would add up over time. He nodded to Sensei, "What do you want me to practice on next?"

"Your ability to control it and create these small bursts is a very basic, but very useful technique. We will soon focus on ward training, for a warrior cannot fight if he is filled with projectiles. The ward that I will teach shall protect you against most physical projectiles, so long as you're capable of maintaining it."

"Oh sweet, like a kinetic barrier?" Ron said before he thought of what he was saying. Sensei looked at him with narrowed eyes, and Ron rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry, heh. Gamer reference."

Sensei sighed, then said, "It will not protect you very well against energy based projectiles such as lasers, but it can cover you against elementally based attacks, such as the fireballs many European spellcasters favor in combat. Most basic magical blasts will be stopped by this ward. You will find that the ward has a mundane utility, but these wards must be consciously activated, so while I teach you the basics, you must be able to learn to activate them subconsciously when battle begins."

Ron nodded, bowing his head, "I understand."

"Good. Sit, and we shall begin. Clear your mind, envision a shield, invisible yet steadfast..."

Ron did so, concentrating, but he did not reach for magic yet. Sensei continued to explain, telling him to visualize, to feel, to imagine, to make clear what he wanted, the base and foundation of controlling magic: _willpower_.

XX

**Lowerton Community College**

**Lowerton, Colorado**

"Come on, man! We gotta move if we're gonna get the goods!" Dawn Aarons said as she watched the two with her hauling out crates of valuable, if low-grade, tech that they could trade with WWEE. She held her fists tightly, feeling her newly gained powers ready to go. Thanks to her usage of rima, WWEE's newest 'commodity', she'd gained useful powers: She could create electric charges and blasts, which proved useful in knocking out the surveillance cameras in the building. She looked around, noting the unconscious campus security guard groaning as he leaned against the wall she'd knocked him into earlier. She looked around fervently as her friends hurried out. All three were wearing ski masks, and they had two more helping them waiting in the pickup truck to help them get the goods out of there.

As they moved quickly down the main campus, they looked up; the pickup was still in the parking lot nearby, meaning that after a quick sprint, they'd be home free...

Two police cars, however, would disagree. The police in them swerved in front of the parking lot, forming a makeshift barricade, and four cops got out, drawing pistols and aiming at them.

"Hands in the air!" shouted one police officer with a sergeant's chevrons on his arm, "Put the crates down and step away from the tech!"

"Sorry officer," she said as she blasted him with a ball of electricity, zapping him unconscious as his coworker was also caught in the blast. She hurled a two bolts of electricity at the other policemen as they ducked into cover, swearing, but the ducking didn't help as the electricity simply went through the car, shocking them to near-unconsciousness rather than full unconsciousness as it was somewhat distilled by the car. She ran over, leaping over the car as the other two hurried over. They ran to the pickup when a purple car pulled up, stopping in a parking lane, and the door opened, the driver hopping out of the car and slamming the door shut quickly...

"Aw _shit_!" she cursed as _Kim Possible_ sprinted at her. She charged her electricity, hurling a bolt at Kim, but she was already dodging when the bolt was hurled, flipping over it. The second bolt wasn't any luckier, harmlessly hitting the concrete pavement as the teen heroine closed in. She swung a punch, but Kim had gotten into melee range and kicked her in the face, knocking her back. She focused her electricity, creating a shield of sorts. Kim struck it, and grunted as she was zapped, launched into the air and hitting the ground several feet away. Dawn grinned as she charged another burst, intending to be able to brag that she _beat_ Kim Possible.

XX

Kim pushed herself off the ground as her burns from Australia felt electrified in pain, half blinding her as her opponent charged another burst of electricity; she was analyzing the fight in her mind: _Alright, this electric freak's not bad... but she's inexperienced; those blasts aren't being used effectively._ She glanced over, seeing the guys carrying the technology running to the pickup. "Oh no you don't!" she shouted as she sprinted over, pulling on a second wind, leaping over an electric blast and landing in the back of the pickup, where the two thieves were climbing in. She kicked the first one out of the pickup, sending the hooded teen into the back (the hood falling off to reveal a brown-haired freckled man), which he hit and flipped over, landing on his side roughly. The second one rushed her, dropping the crate into the pickup and he was swinging, but Kim grabbed him by the hand, pulled him closer, then flipped him onto the top of the driver's compartment, causing him to grunt and land on top of the engine, the driver screaming and getting out. Kim leapt off the pickup truck and nailed the fleeing driver in the back with a kick, sending the teenaged woman to the ground. Kim stood up, looking for the super.

She heard an electric charge, and barely had time to get out of the way as another electric bolt zapped by and blasted a no parking (between 7 PM and 5 AM) sign apart. She spun over a second blast of electricity, moving in close towards the super. A third blast of electricity shot upwards, and would of intercepted Kim in mid-air if she hadn't used her grappling hook to swing _down_, rolling on the ground as she disconnected the grapple (leaving it stuck in the roof of the multi-story parking lot), rolling forward as she landed. Kim was now in close, and she punched the super with an uppercut before she used several well-placed kicks to the chest and legs, causing the super to stagger backwards as Kim kept the offensive up, hitting her several more times with her fists before stopping with a finishing uppercut. The super continued to stumble back, dazed, and collapsed with a thud as two more police cars arrived. Kim walked up and checked the super; wincing as Kim realized she might have hit this one a bit _too_ hard, as there were a number of large bruises, some of which had drawn blood. The police officers drove into the parking garage, getting out and quickly checking the subdued criminals before cuffing them.

"Miss Possible," said an officer from behind her; Kim stood and turned, nodding to the officer.

"All down," Kim explained, "Some collateral on the signs and pavement, but nothing too big. How're the downed officers doing?"

"They'll be fine, I reckon, just shocked and a few mild electrical burns," the officer explained as he cuffed the super, pulling her up, "Thanks for the help."

"No big; it's not like this was an experienced super or anything, was it?" Kim breezily said; it really wasn't a big deal.

The officer shrugged, "You'd know better than me."

XX

**New York Harbor**

**New York City, New York (State)**

Private Leroy "Jenkins" Jeremy sighed as the freighter rolled in. _Man I hate the fact that we're doing this... isn't this customs' job, not ya'know, something for an army grunt to handle? I signed up to fight for my country, not inspect bagged British hams or stinky French cheese..._ He was native to New York, so he knew that imports were never army premises; he wasn't even sure why some army soldiers were being transferred to help the inspectors, sometimes replacing them, like he was now. And they weren't even going to have a dog with them to help sniff things out, which was a shame, as he always liked Steele_,_ the German Sheppard that had been sometimes assigned to them.

"Let's get this over with," said his partner, Private James Taylor, an African American from Boston who was with him in boot camp. The two were professionally distant, but they knew each other well enough and playfully ribbed each other about the Red Sox and Yankees games.

They walked up into the ship, a crewmen pausing from his work to ask, "Something wrong?"

"Customs inspection," Leroy answered as they walked up the ramp, checking his rifle to make sure the safety was on; he didn't like accidents. The crewman paused, a pause that unnerved Leroy and gave him a bad feeling about this. Finally, the crewman called his ship captain by a walkie-talkie and let them board. He and James walked through, opening crates at a _seemingly_ random but actually carefully planned intervals.

Half an hour passed, and Leroy asked, "Man, I feel like a glorified copper at this point, you feel that way, James?"

"Thought we were on duty, Private," he answered with a smirk as they opened up a crate of flour to check; all seemed normal, but then again, it was all inside the sacks of flour. James frowned, "Wait a second, hold on."

"What?" Leroy asked as he was already moving on as his partner held one of the flour bags, "It's flour."

"Yeah; but flour doesn't usually settle _that_ nicely. There's always a sort of chunk in it." To point it out, he shook it, and it seamlessly flapped.

"You're paranoid, James; it's just flour, maybe mislabeled sugar, what could possibly be wrong with it? Shit, we need the flour in the city anyways, got too many hungry mouths and not enough food."

"Well, for one, this crate is hardly in a cooled area." he pointed out, gesturing up to the fact that it was stored with various other hard metal goods such as silverware, "Flour rots and molds, right?"

"Yeah; of course it does, everything does given long enough... OK, you've spent _way_ too much time in your mother's bakery dude."

"Better safe than sorry." James said as he pulled out his combat knife, "If they complain, I'll ask the XO to dock it from my pay."

Leroy shook his head, walking over and watching as James slung his rifle over his shoulder and cut the first sack of flour open. Leroy swore as he saw what spilled out, to which James gave a quizzical look. "It's called _rima_; the newest drug out there, blasting meth out of the professional level by a home run and then some. Stuff can't be homemade, well, not easily, but you use this for a while, it's said you get genuine superpowers. And I've seen some gang members slinging that stuff around Brooklyn, so they aren't lying."

"This was pretty poorly hidden," James pointed out, "Any detailed inspection would of spotted it, especially with a dog."

"Most would of seen a sack of flour. Might of searched if the dog smelled it, but the drug's so new that dogs may no..." he cut himself off as he heard heavy footsteps, flipping the safety off of his rifle as he turned, a crewman had appeared holding an unusual staff weapon that glowed at the tube-like end. He shouted at the man, "Drop it, hands in the air!"

Suddenly, James shouted, and before Leroy could react, something hit him from behind, shooting electricity through his body. A few bullets fired as he instinctively hit the trigger, but the bullets hit a shipping crate harmlessly, shooting holes into another crate of 'flour'.

"That's going to cost you," said someone behind him, putting a boot on his back after kicking away his rifle. He tried to look around, then felt hands grab his shoulders and flip him around. A man wearing a purple outfit with a white center that had the symbol for _lambda_ on it was staring down at him, holding some sort of electrically-charged staff to his face. "You'll soon realize that interfering with WWEE business is hazardous for your health."

"Who the hell are you?" James shouted at the female agent pinning him down, "Never heard of you '_wee_' guys. What do you do, piss yourselves?"

"No!" shouted the man with lambda on his outfit, growling, then saying in a threatening manner "Shame you won't be reporting back to-"

Leroy reacted the same time as James; grabbing their emergency combat knives from their belts, they slashed the heads off of the shock staves and rolled, tripping the WWEE thugs pinning them down and rose...

Only to realize they were surrounded entirely by agents pointing shock staves at them: at least a half a dozen, with various Greek letters on their chests. They looked like minions from a _James Bond_ movie to Leroy, and about as cheesy with the large goggles. Before they could duck, grab their rifles, and start shooting their way out to report to their commanding officer about the smugglers, the thugs fired some form of energy bolts from their staves, causing the two US soldiers to drop their knives and slump over, luck (or fate) keeping them from impaling themselves on the knives as they literally hit the deck and lost consciousness.

XX

**HenchCo Headquarters**

**Northshore, Washington (state)**

Jack Hench smiled as he answered on the main screen, as Gemini appeared. "Ah, hello again, Gemini. What can HenchCo do for you?"

"_I need another dozen henchmen, the usual."_

"Of course, of course, Mister Gemini. Please tell me you aren't leaning on the button again." he said with a clear intent to be making a merchant's good-natured ribbing, keeping his voice warm and suave; Jack didn't like Gemini's regular disposal of henchmen, but he wasn't going to complain; it kept business going as long as Jack could find henchmen willing to take the role; and people willing to do it were coming in by the daily truckload now rather than monthly. He wasn't sure if the minimal survival rate of Gemini's disposal was _good_ or _bad_, however. It was good because it kept tales from getting out easily, but bad because the survivors usually came back to Jack looking for another villain. But then again, who's able to survive getting shot into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and not do it on their own?

"_No, Global Justice's damned Power Buster Division arm is getting too competent for its own good."_ Gemini answered, pausing as his dog yelped rapidly and, in a quieter, more calming, baby-talking voice, "_Oh, sorry Pepe, I'm sooo sorry... there there, there'll be a quarter in the GJ jar..."_ He glanced up at Hench again, returning his voice to its dangerous baritone, "_I expect these henchmen to actually _succeed_, you know."_

Hench was silently laughing that Gemini still thought PBD was a GJ division, but instead, he kept his business face on; "If you want to improve them, Mister Gemini, you may wish to consider _Stormtrooper B-Gone_ or another, more thorough training regimen instead of only putting all your men through _Basic Bad_. Such is always available, should you wish to do the business."

"_Hrrrm_," Gemini growled as an answer, "_I might... consider it."_

"Excellent! Now, I'll arrange for the next batch of henchmen to be sent over now, unless you want me to wait until we've discussed new training?..."

"_Send them now; we'll discuss better henchmen at a later date, Mister Hench."_

"Good, I can't wait." Hench said as the call ended, flexing his fingers and holding them together on his desk, forming a tent with them. He called his secretary and told him to arrange an appointment with Gemini; he also called one of his underlings to pick a dozen henchmen to go to Gemini, then considered the deals he's been making lately. _Business is booming... I think the invasion helped it a lot. How ironic._

He took the next call; "Ah, Senior Senior Junior; what has you calling HenchCo today?"

XX

**Possible Residence**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Doctor James Possible frowned as he read the _Examiner's_ evening paper; the side article next to the headline (_Military Stops Maniacal Mayhem in Marlboro, MI)_ wasn't the most pleasant to read. He lowered the paper and asked his daughter; "Kimmie-cub, you read this?"

"No; why?"

"Apparently someone's calling for you to pay for damages caused in today's altercation. Some guy from those 'Innocents for Public Safety' fellows." He shook his head, amazed at the infinite capacity for stupidity that humanity was capable off. _Come on, she was hardly causing the damages; she's been doing this stuff for four years, and now folks want to start harassing her about it?_

Kim just shrugged, "If they want to try, they can, but I don't think it'd hold water in any legal case since the governor passed that authorized vigilante bill last year; after Lil Diablo." She returned to eating her dinner as he continued to read through the article. Bad news all around; reports of a new drug on the streets continued to grow, two US soldiers went missing in New York City while on a customs round (apparently having been lent to replace missing customs personnel), and several superpowered brawls broke out, including one in Canada that involved some lumberjack stepping up and saving lives with a downed police officer's pistol.

He shook his head, and smiled at the last article; it was a short report, but the headline was a day brightener: _Teen Heroine foils Superpowered Robbery_.

He glanced over at Jim and Tim, who had finished their dinner early and were experimenting with some small device, "Boys," he said warningly, "What have I told you about science in the dining room?"

"Aw, dad," Jim said, "It's just a link to our satellite…"

Tim continued, "… we were looking at the IFPS meeting; they're really getting nuts… hey!"

"What?" Kim asked, glancing up. Dr. P put his paper down as the twins showed the image.

"Some general dude just walked in; GJ uniform by the looks of it." Tim explained, to which Kim frowned. He wasn't sure what to make of it; a general going to a meeting in Upperton near his base? Nothing unusual there.

"I thought you said Malta didn't back the crazies who went after us," Jim said with a hint of accusation, shivering. The two had taken the attack itself rather well, but the fact of what Hana could do freaked them out on a whole new level.

"Now, Jim, you know what I said about sides of a coin..." James said with a sigh, "Just because there's a few crazies in a crew doesn't mean everyone in it is. Unless it's a proven group of total crazies, of course." He added as he considered it seriously.

Kim then added, "I don't think Malta agrees with the guys who went after you, but he definitely thinks supers are a big problem. Guess today helped prove him right, didn't it?"

"Ah, don't worry;" he said reassuringly, "I'm sure it won't be rough on you." Kim frowned at him, canting her head slightly. "Oh;" he said as he remembered; "That's not where you were going with this, was it?"

"I'm just worried about how Ron's gonna react; I mean, if he comes home finding that someone's put in a bunch of regs against supers, he may freak. A lot." Kim explained, sighing.

"Ah, don't worry too much;" he said as he returned to reading the paper, "I'm sure things will sort themselves out." And he was pretty confident; more heroes like his daughter were stepping up to the plate, and people had dug themselves out of worse with less around to help.

XX

**Dementor's Secret Lair**

**Alaska**

Dementor chuckled as he looked at the new half-track, "Yes, zhis will do vell out there." He glanced to the side, "Vhat is it, Myron?"

"Something came in the mail; might want to see it." Myron answered, handing over a sealed envelope with a HenchCo stamp on it. _Ugh, is it the stupid bill again? I already paid..._ He opened it, ignoring the fact his hands were covered in grease, and read the letter with interest.

"Hmmm," he said as he finished, "HenchCo's Annual Henchman Expo... hrrrm." He read over certain parts again, and smiled, "Ah, good, good, the schnitzels will be there... ah, perfect! A chance to show up Drakken's buffoonish henchmen again in ze _Henchlympics!_" He made a mental note to save the date, smiling as he handed the letter to Myron and walked over to wash the grease off of his hands before he got ready to go to sleep early tonight. He had a GJ base to rob tomorrow morning, and a villain can't rob a base when they're half-asleep, now can they?

XX

**Morning: July 21st, 2007**

**Possible Residence**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim ate her breakfast quietly in the kitchen as she watched the news.

"_Two teenage boys were killed this morning in Dallas in an incident involving a fire hydrant, a cryogenic 'super', and a candle. Police reports say that the super had a high concentration of an undisclosed drug, hinted to be methane, in his blood stream in high amounts. Memorial services are to be held on the twenty-fifth by the families of the deceased."_

She shook her head as the news reporter began to drone on about upheavals in the stock rates, causing problems in Wall Street as crime rates increased. Things really _were_ starting to look rough, especially as prices kept increasing as major trade centers had been generally wrecked by the damages caused not only by the Warhok and Warmonga's walkers, but also the associated gangs and small range criminals who were coming out of the woodwork to capitalize on the chaos as law enforcement felt itself stretched thin. Taking another bite from her food, the Tweebs walked in, talking quietly to each other about their satellite and some interference problem it was having. She frowned, wondering how college was going to be like. _I don't want to stop this hero thing… but am I going to be able to find time between studying, classes, _and_ probably some light job to cover costs to keep going?_

She shook her head and continued eating; if nothing else, it was a short hiatus before actually joining GJ as a freelancer or something to that effect. A few minutes later, she was in her room getting dressed. It was nine in the morning when she was driving the Sloth to Monique's house; her father had wanted to talk to her. Kim was slightly freaked, especially when she remembered that Monique's father was an ex-marine with a shotgun. She drove up and parked, stepping out and walked to the door, knocking.

The door opened, and a tall, African American man with a full beard and short black hair was standing there, and he nodded, "Come in, Miss Possible. Please; have a seat."

As Kim walked in and was gestured towards the family room, she saw Monique sitting there; but to Kim's relief, it didn't look like she was in trouble. Kim sat down on the couch next to Monique as her father sat in the rocking chair. He leaned back, then said, "I know Monique went with you down to Australia; I wanted to thank you for making sure she wasn't hurt down there, she mentioned you found yourselves in some traps."

Kim shrugged, "No big, Mister…"

He cut her off, "Call me Jack; you've earned that."

"Oh; right. Well, it wasn't anything special, really."

"So you say, so you say." Jack said with a smile, "You sell yourself short quite often; what you do has a profound impact on people. Still;" he cut the smile, "I'd ask you not to bring Monique along on one of your missions for a while if you can avoid it; I'd rather not have her caught up in the messes going on; I know she was on two other 'missions', but those didn't see any combat, did they?"

"No, though she handled herself pretty well against the Fashionistas;" Kim answered, "We were hoping there wouldn't be any fighting this time though; it really was just following a lead from Ron."

He nodded, undestandingly, then the doorbell rang, and Jack got up. The two teenaged girls watched him as he opened the door; a man was standing there with an _Innocents for Public Safety_ flyer. Jack's voice boomed loudly; "_NO_, I do not want a flyer! I told you to stop coming by my house!"

"But you've seen first-hand the dangers of unregulated powers; we have to _act_ if we want to live in a safe world!"

"If you don't get the hell off my property, I'm calling the police, got it?"

Kim stood up as one of the women pushed herself in as the door slammed shut, trying to drop the flyer in. She walked over, and looked at her. "He said leave," she said coldly, before grabbing her hand and shoving her backwards out the door. The woman rebounded, however, slamming into the door and opening it. Jack was about to hurl a punch for the woman's face, but Kim simply grabbed her by the waist, turning, and hurled her out the door properly, leaving her humiliated on the sidewalk. The door was slammed shut after, Jack shaking his head; "Damn IFPS; they don't know when to quit."

"You should see Jehovah's Witnesses;" Kim answered, "One time they came by our house… well…"

XXX...XXX

"_No; I am not interested. Goodbye."_

"_But sir, the souls of your family…"_

"_Hey, Actually; I need a sacrifice for a hypersonic pyrokinetic demon summoning I'm doing; you interested?"_

"_Wait, what?"_

XXX...XXX

"At that point, the door was slammed shut," Kim finished. Jack smirked, but Monique was laughing.

"That's hilarious; how'd they take it?" Monique asked.

"They stood stunned for a few minutes, then moved on."

Jack shook his head, "Well, I think we covered what I wanted to. Thanks for keeping my daughter safe, Miss Possible."

"No big;" Kim answered, "See you later, Monique."

"See ya."

Kim opened the door and stepped out; walking to the Sloth… someone was doing something to one of the windows... "HEY!" she shouted, sprinting over as she saw the IFPS member tagging her car with flyers. She saw her, and her eyes widened in horror, and she ran off. Kim growled, yanking the flyers off violently and crumpling them up, dropping them in the recycling bin that was left out (it was being collected today). She muttered under her breath as she walked back to the Sloth; "What's with these guys, they trying to get hurt?"

She got in and buckled up, pulling out of the driveway and drove downtown, passing through the peaceful suburbs. There was still some wreckage, but most of it had been cleared out at this point, and the houses were steadily looking better and better. She passed several construction crews doing maintenance on the power and phone lines, checking to make sure no damage had been missed in the somewhat rushed early repair job. She heard one of them shout as she passed, and a loud _thud_ echoed from the roof. She swerved out of the way as a few more thuds followed; she saw a tool bounce off the back of the Sloth's trunk as she turned the car, swerving to a halt. She lowered the window, and asked, "You OK?"

"I'm fine!" the construction worker shouted, "Just dropped a few tools! Sorry about that!"

"No big!" Kim answered, tapping the side of the door, "its pretty much dent proof!" And indeed it was, thanks to the Tweebs' armor underlay modifications. The paint, on the other hand...

The worker nodded as he was lowered down to pick up his tools from another worker, who was already getting them, and Kim drove off, coming by the downtown gym. Parking, she got out, locking the Sloth, and walked inside.

"Morning, Possible," the desk jockey, Frank, said as he accessed his computer, "Alright; let me see the card..." she showed it, and he scanned it, nodding, "alright, you're logged in."

"Thanks," she said as she put the card back in her wallet, and went on in.

XX

**PBD Firebase **_**Alternate-1**_

**Upperton, Colorado**

General Malta smiled as he read the report; PBD soldiers in a small township in Washington (state) had managed to get into a superpowered brawl, splitting it up before it had gotten so out of control that it was anarchic. Although there was collateral damage, it was kept to a minimal as the local PBD soldiers got in, stunned the supers, and hauled them away. Turned out one was playing hero and was known enough to local police to be considered an unofficial freelancer, but since Washington didn't have an authorized vigilante bill like Colorado did, the 'hero' were being brought up on charges along with the original perpetrators by PBD. Not that the one in Colorado would of helped the would-be hero; he hadn't even informed the police of his actions, identity, or any of that paperwork, which the bill in Colorado required, even though local officers knew him and could vouch for his good nature. _Course,_ he reminded himself as he considered the _actual_ cause of the bill, _it was more just to shut off that Dementor guy from bringing successful charges in on Possible after she stopped Lil Diablo when a judge realized the reality of the case... Heck, hardly anyone noticed the bill in the aftermath, and those who know it thought it came with better intentions._ He shuffled the report back into the folder and put it to the side; he'd return it to the archive later. For now, he brought up the next report.

"Hmmm..." he said as he read the file on the new WWEE "Agent Alpha", a woman who had sonic powers and seemed to be able to, unusually, amplify the competence of nearby allies (for lack of a better term to describe the improvement). Global Justice was still digging information on her, but they were also trying to find another lead on the Sapper and maintain research into the alien technology. He sighed; it was just another super out to cause problems, by working for WWEE, the biggest bunch of organized anarchists. "That's oxymoronic"_,_ he whispered as he considered the phrase seriously. He glanced through the report; all they knew was that it was some science related incident as a passive scan revealed considerably mutated DNA; something was pumping through her and it wasn't like Robert "_Shieldbash_" Webber's mutation. He was faintly curious as to what, the more they knew about the origin of superpowers, the easier it'd be to control their influence on the world and prevent accidentally creating an army of angry supers.

He finished reading the report, noting that she had dropped off the radar after a brief encounter with GJ agents guarding refugee supplies in southern France. He then picked up the next report, an audio tape, which he was listening to again to try and understand it, as well as the associated report. He'd read the report enough times, but he still looked over it as he listened.

It wasn't anything he really should have cared about, he himself had called the whole situation hogwash, but it was an audio transcript recovered by a pair of sneakily-placed chips on the land surfers that Kim Possible and her _**civilian**_ friend Monique had used to traverse the Australian outback. He played it back to just after Wade informed them of his... displeasure about her bringing a civilian along.

"_Probably for the best Wade, there was some seriously weird stuff down there. See you in Middleton_." Kim said back, then a short pause indicated she was turning to someone else, Malta knew that she was actually ending the transmission; "_Well, Monique, what's your take on that mess?_"

"_Get checked first;"_ Monique answered as scraping suggested they were preparing the land surfers, and the following sentence amused and concerned him at the same time: "_But really, what is this prophecy stuff? Real cliché and predictable, girl; a sixteen year old could probably write better._" He had frowned when he heard that the first time, confused, then he remembered the fact that Ron had recovered some hints of a prophecy, but didn't give details. But this did confirm that they found _something_ down there.

"_I just wish we got a name for that 'threat'_," Kim said disappointedly with a sigh, "_Much easier to research something if we could put a name to it."_

"_Probably something cheesy like Magnus Archmagica or something really dumb like that_," At this point, the audio was having static from the traveling, but it could still be clearly heard.

"_Heh, I'm just glad I didn't have any stupid powers or something, pretty satisfying to do something that expects you to have superpowers or magic or whatever, without it._" Kim paused a moment, then asked in a tone that had set off warning flags in Malta's head, "_So what do you think we should tell GJ?_"

"_I say we just tell them the ruins had some ancient stuff that couldn't really be deciphered, and frankly, that stuff is confusing. Load of junk anyways, right? I mean, how many big world-threatening things have you stopped_?" **That** had been exactly why Malta didn't want Kim bringing a civilian: They couldn't be accountable to report everything to PBD if they didn't want to report it. And since Kim was still technically a freelancer, and had no technical or legal obligations to PBD or GJ, he couldn't even pull the chain of command out and proverbially beat her with it (in a disciplined manner, of course). And her report reflected that by not mentioning specifics besides the fact that she'd encountered a super down there.

"_Lost count, though half of them weren't very well thought out_." Kim had said that pretty breezily, which always concerned Malta that she could be so... _casual_ about world-threatening things and her stopping them, despite nearly dying in the other half of the situations.

"_Yeah, well, what's another to your belt? I say keep this prophecy junk on the DL."_

_"I was hoping you'd say that. Just a load of junk; should tell Ron and Wade, but I don't see why anyone else needs to know some ancient dudes think I'm their enemy 'as destiny says'." _Kim's was deliberately mocking at that point, which amused Malta slightly, but he still was more concerned about the fact that they wouldn't file a full report on what happened and, more so, that Kim never _intended_ to do so if she could. The report in his hand was testament; it indeed was a factual account, but it left out things on the so-called prophecy junk Ron had supposedly found; all it said was the villain "Dragon-kin" had tried to take them out and only succeeded in burying himself under the ancient structure, which collapsed. _"Who needs more when I have enemies like Drakken, Dementor, or Duff Killigan?"_

"_Yeah, you get away with serious weirdness, but I think that's hitting a topside, you know? Best leave this alone, some folks consider you odd enough without adding this layer to it."_

The audio tape ended, as nothing more of note had been exchanged between the two. Malta leaned back solemnly in his chair, trying to understand what had passed; he had a PBD intelligence officer analyzing it and the scan of the scroll that Stoppable had sent. It was low priority, especially in comparison to the sapper, but he knew _something_ had happened there. And that something had, if the mention of getting scanned indicated anything, meant that something may be going on in Kim's body; he'd seen too many weird things happen to not dismiss the possibility of potential mind control (Malta had made a note to contact Cyrus Bortel, who was GJ's hired (freelancer) expert on mind control tech, just in case). He'd seen GJ's file on Kim and Ron; he knew if either of them had a rogue streak or suffered mind control, serious things would happen that'd take everything PBD had and more to stop.

He was, however, somewhat pleased by the fact that their investigation at least suggested Kim wasn't going to go evil or anything irritatingly cryptic like that; he doubted it'd work, but he felt like that with supers around, everything unusual had to be investigated, analyzed, classified, and _put down_ as needed. Still, he knew that he'd want to keep an eye on Kim; she wasn't telling everything, which meant that it was something disturbing, possibly something she wanted to keep to herself to avoid upsetting people and killing her reputation.

Or he was being far too paranoid, and it _really_ was nothing unusual for her to handle. _Yeah,_ he thought, smirking, _What's a big threat way back when would probably only be a brief conflict now, if that..._

He slid the audio tape back into the folder, and put the files away, and returned to work on finding the sapper before it was too late.

XX

**Dr. Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

"You're working with high confidence, Doc,"

"That's right, Shego," Drakken said with a large smile as he continued to enter in the new AI code for the Diablo robot, to _finally_ solve their Identify-Friend-Foe issues, "With the data we acquired from those stashes, we have enough to set up preliminary parameters, once we break into the GJ base and steal all their data on the lorwardians to complete what we're missing, we can use the AI designs salvaged from the walkers to create _the ultimate, ROBOT! __**WARRIORS**__!"_ He held his hands up with an evil laugh as he finished it, "_Muahahahahahhaaha, OHUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"_

Shego tapped him on the shoulder, and asked, "I thought we tried that with the Z-Boy factory four years ago."

"Git; gir; gah! Shego, _why_ must you also harsh my mellow?" Drakken asked, aghast that _again_ she had to kill the moment. "It's going to work much better this time, because the walkers AI was, while not the brightest, capable of identifying friend-foe and specific targets. Besides, alien tech always gives an edge, right?"

"If you say so, Doc, but if it didn't work before, why would it work now?"

"Well..." Drakken said, trying to think of a good excuse, "Alright, fine, it won't work alone, but come on, it'd be really useful!"

"If you say so." she answered as she sat down and started reading a magazine.

Drakken sighed, and returned to work, reminding her: "We'll be going soon as I enter the new coding, so don't get too comfortable."

XX

**Middleton Gym**

**Middleton, Colorado**

"So," Kim asked as she pushed the two-hundred pound weight bar up, going for repetition rather than heavy weight, "How's Josh these days? Haven't seen him since graduation."

"Just fine," Tara answered from the next one over; Tara didn't lift as much as Kim did, in fact, she lifted only a hundred twenty-five at most, but Kim didn't honestly care, wasn't her business. "We're going to be heading out mid-August probably; acceptance letters for Yale came in, so we're good."

Kim grunted as she pushed the weight up one last time and put it back onto the bars, sliding herself forward so she could sit up. "Guess things are changing."

Tara put the weights up on the bar and sat up, wiping sweat from her forehead, "Hey, it's life. Bet you're all set on what you wanna do. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do."

Kim shrugged, "Figured I'd join Global Justice, you know. Major in international diplomacy; see if I can't do some good out there."

"Yeah, GJ's hardly much of a secret now, is it? Least around Middleton. Bet you'd be fast-tracked on promotion, earning it and all. I mean, you've blown their agents out of the water as far as busting bad guys goes."

Kim shrugged, "Hey, I can't be everywhere, its GJ agents and PBD soldiers who keep things from falling apart. But yeah, you're probably right. Knowing Doctor Director, she'd put me and Ron in as her point team for anything unusual; if it's rough, we head in there and clear it out for cleanup crews."

"Sounds like the kind of stuff you're interested it; hey, you'll get to travel a lot." Tara said as she laid back for another set. Kim did the same.

"Well, yeah, but I'd like to settle down eventually, you know?" She pushed the weights up again, "Just because I save the world a lot doesn't mean I don't want to relax and enjoy life."

Tara grunted noncommittally as an answer.

XX

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron grunted as the projectile hit him square in the stomach, the ward he had tried to create failing spectacularly. "Ow..." he wheezed, pushing himself off the ground as the sack of flour (hurled fast enough that the ward would actually trigger) had effectively blown him into the wall of the small training arena. He spat out a blob of spit and pushed himself up, "Alright, let's try again..."

He focused, following the steps Sensei had told him, but as the next projectile was launched at him, he felt himself get clobbered again, blasted away, hitting the wall again, stars exploding in his head as he was blinded from the concussion that he likely now had. He groaned as he pushed himself up, feeling his lip; _Ah nuts,_ he thought, _think I cut it…_

"Focus," Sensei cut in, "You have the right technique, but you are not _focusing_ hard enough for it to work."

"Again." Ron said as he stood up; holding his hands out, ready to channel the magic he needed. The projectile sack of flour was fired from the catapult-like contraption as he attempted to activate the ward…

There was a brief flash in front of him, giving Ron a hope for the merest fraction of a second that he'd succeeded… and then he was clobbered again, blown across the training arena, where he landed on his back, sliding until his head hit the fence, which was a fairly short slide.

"My spleen…" he wheezed out in pain. Sensei was walking over to him, and helped him up.

"That was your best effort so far, Stoppable-san," Sensei said encouragingly in his deep, but warm, baritone, "Rest for a bit, recover from the impacts, then we shall continue."

Ron bowed his head briefly as he staggered up, limping out of the way, and he leaned against the stone wall outside of the actual arena, next to the door, feeling the bruises form around his body. Rufus hopped onto his shoulder, and he winced in pain as the naked mole rat landed on a now-tender spot.

"Aw," Rufus reassuringly chimed in, putting a hand to the bruise forming on the back of Ron's head. He _really_ wished someone had taught him how to magically heal now; he didn't know how long his incredibly long resilience could handle taking these direct hits from sacks of flour that might as well of had rocks in them.

"Why," Ron asked, "are these things so hard anyways? They're going to kill anyone who doesn't have my kinda resilience."

Rufus shrugged, muttering an "I dunno". Ron was starting to question if his powers were really worth it… then he thought back to Graduation, what had nearly happened to Kim… that set him straight on that question. It was worth it, far too worth it. He shook his head as it began to clear; the Stoppable family's famous fortitude kicking in as usual. It never ceased to surprise him how much he could take and still live. He inhaled, pushing himself from the slouch, and walked over, Rufus hopping off in anticipation of more crashing.

The naked mole rat was right; and it _hurt_ like hot sauce down his pants. The _front_ of his pants, just to make things worse.

XX

**PBD Firebase Base **_**Alternate-11**_

**Off the Coast of Florida**

Drakken laughed as Shego melted a hole into the wall of the off-shore research station, nominally disguised as an eccentric fisher club's haven and fishery. Several GJ soldiers, dressed as fishers with whatever part of their armor they could slip under it, were already knocked out on the deck as the weak masquerade failed. Drakken checked his watch; "Better hurry, the EMP I set off is going to cease in three, two; one…"

The sound of defenses powering up was heard, and Drakken sighed as two laser defense turrets powered up, and he quickly recognized the type from his college days. _Since when did Gary lend his toys to GJ bases in the middle of nowhere? Thought that mad scientist of a GJ officer kept his tech over in his Montana base; _He wondered as he focused, a vine rapidly growing to smash the first turret, squeezing the turret and crushing it. Drakken chuckled evilly, only for the second turret to blast him with a stun charged laser, knocking him against the bulkhead and singing his chest and vest. He growled, and sent a second vine to smash the offending turret. A blast hit the incoming vine head on, but it didn't stop the vine as it grew a branch and strangled the turret's power supply, causing it to implode before exploding, covering the place in smoke and shooting burning debris over the area. Drakken shielded his face as the vine retracted, and shouted, "Hah!"

"Come on doc!" Shego said from the freshly melted open hole, "Let's move!"

Drakken leapt in after her, a pair of female GJ soldiers whirling around as they entered. "HEY! This is a _restricted_ area!" the left one shouted as the two raised their GJA-13 energy rifles. But the two poor blue shirts failed to realize that Drakken had already a pair of vines creeping along the floor, shooting towards them along the ground. When they realized what happened, they shouted, firing the blue lasers from their energy rifles. Shego swung down on the blasts, catching them with her powers and the wrist while Drakken's vines flipped the soldiers over, and tied themselves up, cutting conveniently for them as they finished tying themselves up.

"Hey, I can't move!" shouted the other soldier as she struggled with the vines, "Doc, you watch way too much Hen-" she was cut off by Shego hitting the soldier with a plasma bolt to the gut.

"Hah! Take that, you poor Global…" Drakken was cut off of his gloating as Shego grabbed him, pulling him down the hallway. Drakken realized something, then asked curiously: "Since when could you absorb lasers?"

"More like blasted them," Shego explained as she let go of him, "Impact my powers, might as well of hit a brick wall."

"Oh. Handy, should of used that earlier, I guess."

Two laser turrets popped out as they approached a door, but before Drakken could react, Shego had already hurled two bolts of plasma at the turrets, which hit the power sources and caused them to detonate, concealing the whole area in smoke. Drakken coughed, wishing he'd brought his smoke goggles. He hurried up to the door, and broke open the entry pad, hotwiring the lock. The door slammed open, and he grinned, "Come, let's get ourselves some data…"

They entered the main room, only to find, to their surprise, that an entire twenty-four man strong group of soldiers were lying on the floor, groaning in a daze or completely unconscious. "WHAT?" Drakken shouted, "Who did this?"He heard an evil laugh ahead, and recognized it. _Dementor!_ "Oh great, the miniature wants _my_ data!" Drakken growled out, "Not today."

The two ran forward, entering the database as Dementor, flanked by a half-dozen of his heavily armored henchmen, turned, eyes widening briefly before he narrowed them, frowning.

"Drakken? Vhat're you doing here?" Dementor asked, turning around fully, his henchmen stoic as the duel of words began.

"I'm here to take what's mine, data on those annoying aliens! Data that GJ only has because _I_ took out the walkers!"

"You've been behind the times, Doctor," Dementor said with a grin, "This was never a Global Justice base, it is, and always was, a _Power Buster Division_ base. You may want to hurry and get out of here, they say that their officer's codename is _Pinpoint_.

"Townes…" Drakken growled, "I thought he was a GJ officer in charge of developing his lasers…"

"No, he's actually PBD. Laser obsessed fool, no match for my plasma shields! And neither are you!"

"Plasma shield _this_!" Shego shouted as she hurled a bolt of plasma at Dementor's face before he could raise his shield, impacting him and blowing him over the databank access console, slamming him through the glass window behind it. Dementor pushed himself up, his outfit somewhat shredded by the crash, and his lip had a fresh cut. He asked, "Vell, you vant to fight?"

"I'll do more than that," Drakken snarled at his rival, "That one scheme I did to," he shuddered, "'save the world' has left me with powers more than capable of outmatching your worthless hide, you _will_ be defeated!" At that point, the pedals, at the _**worst**_ time possible, popped out around his neck, completely killing the threat. He growled as he ripped them out, "Nnnnnrrgggghhhh," and Dementor laughed at him.

"Henchmen! Get him!" Dementor ordered, then turned back to the databank.

"Six against one Doc," Shego said as the henchmen charged, an orange energy shield appearing as they each tapped a button on their wrist gauntlets, "How many you got?"

"Put me down for three, work from there!" Drakken said as he shot his vines to and along the floor, aiming to shoot them up from below the henchmen. He tripped up the first one, his plasma shield unable to stop it from coming up below his feet. Drakken laughed as he shot two additional vines from behind his wrists (the vines, of course, all growing from the back of his neck and tickling down his now-intentionally baggy outfit), but they harmlessly hit the plasma shield. He growled, trying to recall the specs of plasma shield research. All he could remember was that they were nigh impenetrable unless overwhelmed with heavy firepower. He immediately thought of Warmonga bypassing Kim's battle suit's shielding with her staff weapon, but he knew that wouldn't help him now; the weapon was lost. He dodged as the henchman closed on him, taking a hit to the chest and being knocked away, grunting. He landed, and continued his fight.

Shego wasn't having anymore luck than he was; he plasma bolts hit the shields, weakening them visibly, but the first henchman had collided into her and slammed her into the reinforced steel wall. The henchman might of wounded her seriously, if he hadn't knocked out the advantage of his plasma shield in the impact by getting her hand inside of it, allowing Shego to blast him hard enough to stagger him, and give her just enough room to beat the daylights out of him. The second henchman came in on both of them, each facing off with their own. Drakken howled as he got hit, and was sent flying out of the room by the hit, landing on top of a GJ (or, evidently, PBD) soldier outside, who twitched. The henchman charged after him, his plasma shield dissipating. Drakken cracked an evil smile as he remembered the short time plasma shields could be maintained, and shot his vines out again, hitting the henchman in the legs, tripping him. Drakken laughed as he hit the henchman several more times to make sure he stayed down. Dementor suddenly ran out as one of his henchman was blown out after him, Shego on his tail as Dementor put a data disc into his pocket.

"Get him!" Drakken shouted, ignoring the third henchman as he sprinted after Dementor.

XX

Dementor laughed as he outran Drakken, somehow, despite his short legs. His other henchmen were disengaging now, and knew how to escape themselves. Now all he had to do was handle Drakken and Shego; he didn't expect them to show up, or he'd of had the sapper with him. He tapped his wrist communication device, "Myron! Make sure ze helicopter is ready!"

"_Got it! PBD gunships en route as well."_

"Vhat kind? Ship or chopper?"

"_Chopper."_

Dementor sighed as he leapt down an access hatch, suddenly swearing as a green plasma bolt exploded behind him. He kept running, sprinting forward, past PBD soldiers bonded together by his bondo-balls. He went down several passages, and smiled as he got to the one he needed. The door ahead was opening for him as he ran near it, and was shutting behind him as he left. His helicopter was waiting, and he smiled as he saw his half-dozen henchman had found other ways to escape, the last three climbing up the back of the helipad and hurrying into the helicopter. The door behind him exploded as it was blasted open by Shego's plasma.

"Too bad, Drakken!" he shouted back, "You lost zhis day! And you vill lose yet again tomorrow!"

"_Give me that data!_" Drakken shouted as more plasma exploded around Dementor's legs as his henchwoman kept hurling it at him. Dementor laughed as he leapt into the helicopter, which took off, shutting the door behind him, and turned as it lifted off, spraying some of Dementor's _own_ lasers back at them.

"We have liftoff!" Myron reported; he wasn't co-piloting, he was _gunning_ for the chopper. "So what'd blue-boy want?"

"Ze data," Dementor said with a laugh, taking the disc out of his pocket and holding it up, "I downloaded it all before he even had a _shot_ at it! Hah!"

"You erased the databank, right?" Myron asked, causing Dementor to pause, frowning, then smacking himself on the forehead for his _idiocy_. He didn't even notice the sound of laser fire going off from still-active laser turrets that had powered up when what Dementor knew was now Drakken's EMP had worn off, nor the pain in his hand for hitting his metal helmet.

XX

"**I WILL GET YOU YET**!" Drakken shouted at the sky as Dementor's helicopter sped away, "Come on," he shouted, "To the hover car, we'll chase him down!"

"Wait a second, doc," Shego said, grabbing him, "Did he destroy the database?"

Drakken, paused, about to turn and give a hot retort, and smiled as he caught onto what she meant, "I don't know, but if the blustering snoozer didn't…"

They ran back into the facility, and Drakken laughed as he entered the databank; Dementor, in his haste, had forgotten to erase the data. That meant it was all for Drakken's taking; he inserted his flash drive and downloaded all the data down into it as Shego stood guard at the door, blasting away a pair of PBD soldiers who tried to get in. Their riot shields had covered them from her plasma, but the impacts slowed them down, and melee combat was still hopeless when they closed in, as Shego simply moved around the shield's protection and used the cumbersome weight against them. She swiftly introduced the soldiers to the floor with the rest of their comrades.

"Let's go!" Drakken shouted as the data download completed. Then the databank's screen was covered by static, then cleared, and Drakken, surprised as an image appeared on it, asked, "Gary?"

"_Drew?" _the geek-like PBD officer responded, dropping his jaw, "_I don't know what made you think this would work, but I've scanned your tactics, and you won't win. PBD gunships are already en route, and you'll find my still-active lasers more than capable of keeping you trapped here."_

"You wish, laser-brain." Drakken answered, "I completely smoked your old laser tests back in college."

"_Which you dropped out of."_ Townes answered in a sing-song tone.

Drakken growled, and then just had one of his vines destroy the screen, impaling itself onto it. With that, Drakken commented, "You were always too organized, Townes. Shego, let's go!"

They sprinted back the way they came, leaping over downed PBD soldiers and debris from Dementor's break in. They reached the breach, and Drakken hopped into the pilot's seat of his hover car, turning it on, and with Shego buckling in next to him, they took off, speeding away as PBD helicopter gunships flew after them, lasers shooting into the air from the still-active defenses Townes had left. "Shego!" he shouted.

"Yep!" she said, turning and hurling several plasma bolts towards the gunships, forcing them to swerve or be damaged by plasma hits. Drakken did a hard turn, and sped towards sea-level, speeding forward towards the nearby islands to make his getaway; he knew how to escape helicopters by this point. He'd done it a few times; sometimes with Kim chasing him down as well!

XX

**Middleton Gym**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim wiped the sweat from her forehead as she finished, when she heard a horrified scream and saw people running away from the entrance. She took a few steps, looking over, and saw, to her great surprise, _Gill_ walking in. The huge slimy mutant looked like he walked through raw sewage, and his brown scales were thick. She didn't even want to know how he'd regained his mutations after Doctor Lurkin and his lab sterilized the entire Wannaweep area of dangerous chemicals. She looked to Tara, pulled off her wrist Kimmunicator, handed it to her, saying, "I'll handle this; call Wade."

Tara nodded, and hurried to the lockers, which were to the side, out of Gill's way at the moment. Kim hurried to the front, where Gill was making some sort of demands of the desk jockey.

"… where is she now?" Gill demanded in a shout, causing the desk jockey to collapse backwards in fear. Kim grabbed an abandoned bottle of (half-empty) water, hurling it at Gill to get his attention. The bottle hit him in the shoulder, and smashed itself into him before falling uselessly, watering the floor and mixing in with some of the muck dripping from Gill's... gills.

"Hey, muck boy!" she shouted, "Looking for me?"

"_There_ you are!" he shouted, "I'm going to make squeeb pay for what he's done to me, and since he ain't around, you're gonna have to do!"

"Bring it," Kim said challengingly, while silently wishing she'd brought her shock stick along; it'd be perfect to take advantage of all the liquid muck he was covered in; it'd amplify the shock perfectly. _I don't have any gadgets; gotta remember that it's my own skills this time._ she reminded herself as Gill inhaled, starting to burp his unique spit at her. She leapt over the first two shots, which impacted a weight lifting machine and caused it to collapse as the muck decomposed the materials grotesquely. She sprinted forward, darting side-to-side to avoid being hit by the mutagenic muck. She slid along the ground low as she closed in, Gill gasping as he realized what was about to happen. Kim brought her legs around, sweeping his legs from under him and causing him to land on his mutated face with a loud _thud_. Kim stood up behind him, and as he rose, she kicked him in the chest, knocking him backwards. He growled, and spat a rapid spray of muck at her, which she dodged by leaping up, grabbing one of the lights above (which was hung like a lamp on a long cord), and swinging over to the next one as Gill aimed up after her.

Back into the main gym from the swings, she saw a five-pound weight iron for weight bars, and grabbed it, hurling it like a discus at Gill. He blasted the makeshift projectile with a shot of muck to prevent it from hitting him. She _really_ wanted to know why Gill had randomly happened onto her without anyone noticing. Gill growled, and charged her, not spitting anymore muck. Kim hoped that it meant he was out, and as he charged, she charged too, ready to dodge to the side. As they closed in, Gill took a swipe with his claws, but Kim leapt up, kicking him in the face hard enough that he was staggered. She knew his considerable mutant durability was going to be a problem, but she'd taken on worse. She fought _Shego_ on a practically daily basis; she knew how to handle tough opponents. Gill growled as he swung, slashing across her chest as she flipped away from his strikes, several drops of her blood landing on the floor. She grunted as she landed a good distance away from him. She looked down at the cuts; they weren't deep, but she was _definitely_ going to get them decontaminated ASAP to keep any of Gill's mutagenic DNA from infecting her. She was used to the sight of being cut at this point; it would be when she was lying in a pool of her own blood that she'd be worried. She blinked as she suddenly felt fatigue kicking in; she realized that the timing was good for Gill; she was tired from her workout. Gill seemed to notice, and chuckled.

"It's a special little evolution you're feeling;" he said tauntingly in his nasal, phlegm ridden voice, "I can tire people now with either spit or just my claws. Every time I strike you, you slip a bit closer to being unconscious as my mutagens go for your blood. You'll mutate eventually, but my swipes are going to make _sure_ you aren't able to get away while that lovely process happens."

Kim growled, hand springing forward and kicking Gill in the stomach, causing him to shout in pain as his mouth shot open, no spit coming out, fortunately. She followed it up with a set of strikes to the gut, before kneeing him in the groin, hoping he still had that biological weakness. Gill shouted with a horrifically loud howl of pain, bending over as Kim got out of the way, hitting him in the back to knock him to the floor. He growled, and roared he landed; something was outside in the distance. He stared hell itself at her, his red eyes taking a dangerously eviler tone, to the point they almost looked like blood itself.

"Uh oh," Kim said as she realized what was about to happen, flipping out of the way as Gill spat at a _much_ faster rate, hitting and ruining machines left and right as she dodged. _Guess the testosterone got him going; guess Darwin's theories correct themselves eventually..._ she thought as she gripped a pull-up bar, swinging from it as Gill shot spit to where she was a mere two seconds before she had not leaped off, flipping over several more bursts. Kim landed, and smiled as Gill was panting heavily as he stared at her. _Good, he's getting tired. That muck takes a toll on him, alright._ She rushed him, dodging a final burst of muck before getting in close, grabbing him by his scaly chest and hurling him into some of the half-destroyed (and probably permanently inoperable) equipment, which he crashed into roughly. Gill groaned in pain as he landed on the ground, staggering up, seeming barely able to stand.

Kim heard helicopter blades, and Gill looked up. A PBD gunship was in the air over the gym, depositing soldiers, and they opened several of the glass ceiling's many access hatches, and PBD soldiers rappelled down from the opened windows, training their weapons on Gill. Kim heard a PBD sergeant shout through a bullhorn, "_Stand down or we'll use force! Only warning!"_

Gill inhaled deeply several times as the PBD soldiers gathered, additional troopers arriving through the front door, taking up defensive positions and aiming what looked like dart guns at Gill. Many of them. Enough that Kim didn't think she, personally, would be able to _survive_ that many darts. _Please tell me those aren't the kind used to tranq wild bears..._ she thought when suddenly, Gill bashed her away with a swing of his arm, knocking her into a rack of hand weights in the two to twenty ounce size.

"FIRE!" The PBD Sergeant shouted as Gill charged the door, raising his scaly arms to protect his face. The PBD soldiers all fired darts, some missing and harmlessly hitting various exercise equipment, but those that hit Gill's arms caused him to shout, and another volley would of finished him... but the PBD soldiers didn't have second rounds in their dart rifles, and were dropping the rifles and charging energy gauntlets or grabbing riot batons from their belts. Gill lowered his arms and spat out his spit at the soldiers, hitting a female one in the chest and slamming her into the desk, pinning her down. Two male soldiers pulled out riot shields, blocking Gill's spit, but he crashed into them and _flattened them_, leaving them on the ground with what was likely several broken ribs _at the least_. Kim rushed after Gill as he hurled away the other PBD soldiers attacking him in melee, leaving Kim briefly wondering where the typical energy rifles used by PBD and GJ were. The soldiers weren't able to get up as she leapt over them, chasing Gill.

"Give it up, Gill!" she shouted, "If I don't get you, the gunship will!" And indeed, the PBD gunship was moving over, most likely training it's heat-seeking tear gas missiles onto Gill's heat signature. Gill turned suddenly, and spat several blobs of his mucky spit to the chopper. It hit the sides to little issue, but one lucky hit caught the rear rotary blades. She gasped as she looked up to see the chopper coming down, but, to her relief, it was controlled, a few people running out of the way as the pilots managed to get the helicopter to a somewhat controlled landing. The helicopter landed on top of a convertible, crushing it, the pilot and co-pilot inside crashing against the windows from impact, but while their helmets protected them, the blows looked like they knocked them out, and the car was on fire. Kim looked towards Gill's direction, and he laughed before running into a back alley, gaining distance quickly. She gritted her teeth, hating that Gill got away because she had to save the soldiers as she moved to the gunship, ripping the door open and getting inside, shutting the rotary blades off and helping the pilots, who looked more like they had a concussion than knocked out, unbuckle from the seats they were trapped in.

"Thanks," said the pilot as he leaned on her so he could get up, "Shouldn't explode, but you never know if it's a pinto..."

The co-pilot was able to get out once Kim helped him unbuckle, and the three got out as additional PBD soldiers arrived and a fire department truck came by.

She looked around the scene; people had gathered and a news chopper and several cameras were set up at the scene. The convertible's owner had showed up and was pissed off to hell and back, but as Kim moved out of the crowd, Tara walked over, and handed Kim her wrist Kimmunicator back; "Thanks," Kim said as she took it, calling Wade, "Wade, what's the sitch? You get a lock on Gill?"

"_Afraid not;"_ Wade said, "_Malta told me that he was getting away, but I wasn't able to get a lock before he went underground; literally, in the old sewers. No way you can track him now."_

"Wade, can you call Doctor Lurkin?" Kim asked, "I wanna know how Gill broke out of his lab."

"_On it; want me to try and contact Ron while I'm at it? Gill's sort of his enemy and all."_

"Probably for the best; better call Ron's family too, Gill's out for revenge, and he's going by proxy."

"_Why can villains never keep it proportional,_" Wade asked with a sigh as he cut the transmission.

XX

**End Chapter**

**- There's a reason this chapter is called 'Scale Back'; the previous few chapters had a good dose of destiny crap, so this chapter scales it back to more every day. Hey, Kim **_**does**_** deal with this kind of crap on a daily basis :P**

**- Rima has been mentioned several times now; so here's the meta-story behind it. I'm taking Latin, so of course, we're learning Latin words. One of them recently was 'rima', which literally means crack. Since we were, in 10th grade health class, learning about drugs such as crack, we couldn't help but laugh because it really sounds like the name for a fantasy drug. So yeah, that's the origin; it's basically a super-drug that I spun out of an in-class joke.**

**- Ron's new barrier is part of a set of preparations so I can **_**finally**_** justify bad guys being able to hit Team Possible without lethally wounding them; they take a passing hit on Ron, it gets absorbed by his barrier (in theory). Not going to make him invincible by any stretch of the imagination, of course. Sort of how Kim getting the battle suit and it's plasma shield allowed her to tank hits (and throw some back with the redirection gauntlet). Don't worry, dodging remains the primary excuse for failure to hit Team Possible ;)**

**- Gill is a character that has some dark implications when you think about it; he's a mutated human. Now, that's nothing unusual in KP, but when you consider he was able to nearly mutate several camps full of students in relatively short time periods? That's a scary possibility. Never mind his superhuman durability; sure, he was always Ron's villain to fight, but Kim needs a chance to take shots at him too. Hey, Ron gets shots at villains Kim usually handles (that is, most of them), so it's vice versa too :P**

**- Thanks to Anon for the reviews and raising points; that's helped me with ironing some things out :)**

**-=Document Recovery: "Human Energy Weaponry"=-**

_Source: Excerpt from _"Arsenals of the Pre-Dominion Era"_ by _Armand Blade_, published in 2012_

_"Global Justice's energy weaponry is an oddity amongst human weapons development in the decade of 2000, from before the lorwardian invasion in 2007 to the Dominion War and are predicted to go beyond as the weapons of high-tech groups. Research had begun long before the year 2000 by to-be PBD Brigadier General Gary "Pinpoint" Townes, but the research properly picked up in 2001 after a successful weapons test in the Montana hinterlands. The technology was rapidly developed, enough that a number of villains had been using these weapons against heroes such as Kim Possible by late 2003; notable villainous users include Drew Lipski (Better known as "Doctor Drakken"), Senior Senior Sr., and Professor Dementor. Upon review of repeated usage and noting that while it was insufficient to stop Kim Possible's heroics, high ranking PBD and GJ officials decided to pour even further resources into these 'lasers'."_

_"Despite the name, it should be noted that these are not quite true lasers. These energy rounds have a short travel time and generally do not travel at the speed of light. Proper terminology is still a matter of debate by scientist and magical scholar alike. However, these 'lasers' grew in popularity, the first wide-spread usage of these lasers being that of Global Justice's _GJA-13_ "Diamond Back" assault rifle, the first true mass-usage rifle of this caliber, and was shortly followed by the _GJA-14_ "Katana" shotgun for corridor clearing and close-range gun fights. Given the stun settings made possible by these weapons, they quickly were combined at insistence of a classified Global Justice program's members to create the _GJA-15_ "Vindicator" hybrid in 2007, which still sees some use today amongst special forces units and mercenary groups who can get their hands on them."_

_"Another quirk of these weapons was their inability to bypass kinetic barriers, giving further credence that they're not true lasers. This was made notable during the Dunkirk Skirmish in the March of 2008, when a single Dominion Marine, Jennifer A. Millington, was able to defeat several renegades using stolen GJA-13 rifles in thanks to her barrier. It is of little surprise, however, that magical barriers shield against these weapons due to their nature being comparable to that of the popular 'magic missiles' used by many Conclave magic users and subsequent independent magic users. Research done by Samantha "Pixie Scout" Townes indicates that the energy weapons operate on the same frequency levels as magic missiles, hence why kinetic barriers do such despite a theoretical lack of kinetic energy behind these energy weapons."_

_"In the end, it was concluded that while a powerful tool and useful in peacekeeping due to the ability to set to stun, a function that lead shooting rifles lack, the weapons were too costly for true mass production, and had ammunition difficulties due to the size and limited power in the batteries used to power the weapons, though magical power sources have helped rectify that issue by offering a self-recharging 'slot' in an ammunition cycle. Regardless, energy weaponry has remained, but is generally used for non-lethal combat."_

**-=Document Ends=-**


	9. Chapter 9: Why We Can't Have Nice Things

_"I think I was always afraid of what my powers could do. I mean, they're awesome, if some prick tries to hurt someone I can send them through a wall or something equally crazy to get them to stop. But I had to keep myself in check; if I'm not careful with my powers I could _kill_ someone with them, like if I sent them through a wall. And I did kill at Graduation. I nearly killed Monkey Fist when I got them in the first place; that's probably why I never really embraced the powers, I was afraid I'd kill someone with them. Not that I really had luck tapping into them when I wanted to, but hey, that's just magical puberty as that mage Fredrick said. Either way though, I could never help but shake the feeling that if I didn't limit my powers, how much I put into them, I'd hurt someone. Control was the key to deciding if I could be the master, or the mastered."_

- Ron Stoppable, reflecting on how his powers were despite being a great boon to his heroics were also a dangerous hindrance to them; as recorded in his_ Liber Memoriarum_

_"Thackeray, you need to be quick about this intervention. The Tri-City Museum has had its security upgraded recently by Power Busters Division in response to many examples of technology by those labeled villain being stored within for an expo on villainous history. Given the tome is within said expo, it will be guarded. Your squad's armor is warded against their energy projectiles, but it is not strong enough to withstand many hits of intensity. Be aware that the Tri-City area is also home to Kim Possible. Although you've been authorized by the Conclave Council to act as necessary in this field, they would request that you avoid unnecessarily angering her if possible given the reports of our diviners. As for your actual infiltration, you must first seal the door with an Abjurer's Ward to prevent reinforcements, then nullify any security centers before proceeding to the tome itself..."_

- Conclave Adjutant Eva Gates briefing the Conclave's spellcaster operative Lucas Thackeray just prior to his mission to hit the Tri-City Museum.

**XX**

**Chapter 9: Why We Can't Have Nice Things**

**July 22nd, 2007**

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron nodded, "So you want me to take a break from training?"

"Yes and no," Sensei explained, "Yes in that you must recover as a constantly struck branch will not survive as long as one that rests, but this is also, as you may say, a grocery run. We are beginning to running low on supplies, and it is better to restock now while we have room to move than to wait until we are desperate."

He nodded, "No worries, I can make it quick."

"Indeed, but this is a day to rest, there's likely a way for you to contact your friends more easily; they should hear from you in a more immediate manner." Sensei winked, and Ron caught on immediately, bowing politely. "Hirotaka will be accompanying you down, he has nothing to do and will do the actual supply run."

XX

**Doctor Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

"So, doc, who's Pinpoint?" Shego asked as Drakken went to work. She was leaning against the wall, filing her nails again.

"Oh, Gary Townes was a geek back in college," he explained with a shrug, "Same class as me. Got along reasonably well with us, but he was a recluse. He was obsessed with lasers and making them not just a thing of science fiction. Did some pretty good work; actually, now that I think of it, he was the one who gave Possible the working plasma blaster, a spin-off of his laser research."

"Wait a second, since when did Kimmie use a plasma weapon?" Shego asked, frowning as she stopped filing her nails, "I don't recall her pulling that out."

"Not Kim, her father, James." Drakken answered, "He made it for the rat Pinky Joe Curly-tail as we called him. Poor thing was abused by the psych majors. Possible showed off his work with cybertronics big time in there. Townes provided the cannon and I handled the controls, but James put it all together and made most of the suit. Pinky Joe blew up half the science building by the end of his rampage. We never did find out what happened to him; bit of a shame really, he was pretty cute for a rat." Drakken was now smiling, closing his eyes with a slight shake of the head, as if reliving a glorious memory. That or he'd gotten into the Coco Moo again.

"Right..." Shego said slowly, returning to filing her nails, shaking her head at the insane things people seemed to get away with. "So what's next?"

"Well," Drakken said as he looked up from the Diablo robot he was working on, frowning as he turned to look at her, "We need to test these bad boys... and frankly I'm thinking we need to get the scheme underway if Dementor's doing his own. Can't have him beat us, can we?"

"And the scheme is?..."

"First off, these Diablos getting put back in. You know, elite guard, handle heroes, yadda yadda. Next we need to find out what Dementor is up to, and see if we can't outsource some of his stuff. THEN..."  
"Then Kimmie comes in and kicks ass while the sidekick blows up some little detail you forgot, we lose, whole plan fails, lair blows up, and we try it again the next day once we finish fixing the lair." Shego finished for him, shaking her head, "Yeah, we need to dig a bit deeper if it's going to work this time."

Drakken raised a finger to argue, mouth hanging open, but then he just pouted and said, "Hmmm. Fine. I'll add a cover layer to this scheme."

**XX**

**XX**

_[__Unstoppable7__ joined #TeamPossible (Password: KRKI60)_

_Unstoppable7:__ Booyah in the house!_

_Unstoppable7__: Sorry I couldn't link up with my Kimmunicator; it's batteries are dead, I think. Forgot to change them..._

_Geek-One :__ Ron, you have any idea what time it is over here?_

_Unstoppable7__: Uh, no, but it's pretty early here._

_Geek-One__: Hah, I'm just playing with you. Kim's out for a jog at the moment, the Middleton Gym got thrashed, so she had to find other methods to work out over the summer._

_Unstoppable7:__ What happened there? I heard a footnote that Middleton had a fight with some biker gang, but Kim stopped that cold, didn't she?_

_Geek-One__: She did. Gill's back, Ron. He's back, mutated again, and out for revenge. He tried to take out Kim, and almost killed several PBD soldiers in his escape._

_Unstoppable7__: Is Hana OK? Did he go for her yet?_

_Geek-One__: Not yet, I'm not sure if he knows, but I let your parents know, Hana's staying with Jim and Tim when they aren't around, just in case. You got my message about what happened?_

_Unstoppable7__: No, IRC is the only thing that's working here, couldn't get onto the site; some WWEE jamming operation or some such that I really don't get._

_Geek-One__: How'd you send a message in the first place then? _

_Geek-One:__ That prophecy stuff?_

_Unstoppable7:__ One of Sensei's ninjas did it. We got a new student here too; a pre-sumo ninja. Yeah, I know. Turns out he's the cousin of the one Drakken hired… we… don't get along. Especially after the wedgies I gave blue boy's sumo._

_Geek-One__: Wrong-sick?_

_Unstoppable7:__ Not yet, but back onto Hana and Gill; do you know what happened?_

_[__KP131__ has joined #TeamPossible]_

_KP131__: Hey Wade, I'm back, what'd you_

_KP131:__ oh, Ron, you're on! How'd you get access to a computer?_

_Unstoppable7__: Sensei had me tag along with a grocery shopping run so I could really call you guys. Wade's filling me in on what's been going on. Kim, did Gill hurt you?_

_KP131__: Not for a lack of trying. Had a nasty slash across the chest, but it wasn't anything threatening. Gill's gotten an upgrade, PBD shot him full of the kind of tranquilizer they use on wild bears and he just ran through._

_Geek-One__: My guess is that it never got in, meaning hardened scales._

_Unstoppable7__: What about Hana? What happened with Jim and Tim there?_

_KP131__: Some of the fanatics that didn't like us got it into their drunken heads to try and get rid of Hana, guess word of the weird she's has got out. Tweebs wet themselves. They had to break your lava lamp to make a trap to delay the mob members. Barkin was there also; got a concussion trying to stop it until Hobble showed up._

_Unstoppable7__: Hana didn't get hurt? Tell me she wasn't hurt..._

_Geek-One__: Quite the opposite; Hana /_hurt_/ the mob members who got through, she sent one straight through your room's floor and into her room. They were wiring his mouth shut when they took him to the hospital._

_Unstoppable7__: Ouch…_

_KP131__: Don't worry too much, Ron, it's nothing that we haven't handled before. So, how's training?_

_Unstoppable7:__ Painful; got slammed a couple times by sacks of flour. Or were they sandbags, I can't remember, I think I had a concussion halfway through._

_KP131__: … what?_

_Unstoppable7:__ Oh, some sort of kinetic barrier, if you catch my drift._

_Geek-One__: Nice one, paragon._

_Unstoppable7:__ More of a BB, but it works on the same principle._

_Geek-One__: So how's it work exactly?_

_KP131__: Uh guys, missing something here?_

_Unstoppable7:__ I'd rather talk in person, but in a nutshell, I can keep projectiles from hitting me. Long as I can keep it up, at least. Still got a lot of work to do…_

_KP131__: Sounds like you're doing really good over there; you'll be back in time for college, right?_

_Unstoppable7__: Oh yeah. Sensei isn't happy about it, he wants me to be around a lot longer, but yeah, I'll be back in time. Paid the tuition and pre-ordered the textbooks, remember?_

_Geek-One__: Have fun guys; shouldn't be too hard._

_KP131__: We're smart, Wade, but we aren't super geniuses. Don't expect us to ace it in weeks like you did._

_Geek-One__: Yeah, I know. Well, I'll have to keep myself busy... maybe figure out the problems with the battle suit while you're studying. Or maybe write up plans for a fusion reactor or something else equally advanced as..._

_Unstoppable7__: So, Felix head off to college yet?_

_KP131__: Yeah, left shortly after Hel's Demons made a shot at Middleton. Had a bit of a fight in Go City too, just before you sent the data. Actually, speaking of the data you sent, why were you working with Shego?_

_Unstoppable7__: Sensei had me take a look into a cave with Yori._

_KP131__: He did, did he?_

_Unstoppable7__: We were quickly separated when we got there._

_Geek-One__: Kekeke._

_Unstoppable7:__ Rufus and I fell into some pit; I wound up cutting through some defenses and ghost-monkey things, like what Monty has at his castle when Drakken and I wound up switching brains, remember?_

_KP131__: I remember._

_Unstoppable7: __Anyways, it culminated with a crystal that I was to take to some "Chronomancer" guys in Satsuma. Shego was evidently there for finding data on some "Generalissimo" fellow. We wound up working together against a giant stone golem, then I got that destiny stuff and Shego got the coordinates that I sent to you guys. Did she look into them?_

_KP131__: She did. GJ sent a team while I was sent down to Australia._

_KP131:__ According to Doctor Director, the agents had to try and force Shego to reveal what was going on, and she knocked them all out and found whatever it is was there. They're sending an archeological team to check it out further._

_Unstoppable7__: Why were you in Australia? I thought you'd of gone after Shego, heck, I was hoping you would!_

_KP131:__ Couldn't get a ride, and Gen. Malta insisted on sending me to Australia instead. Dementor stole some 'Sapper' device, and they tracked him there. He was after some of those HenchCo MSPF's._

_Unstoppable7__: Sapper? What's that?_

_KP131__: It shuts down powers, some Vandals in Go City used similar on Hego and the rest of Team Go, basically Aviarus' power staff 0.5 since it didn't steal the powers, just shut them down. Took a shot at me; didn't even faze me since I don't have any. My guess is that Dementor stole it to deal with you when we came for him, and he's making copies to get cash from other villains to fund his plans._

_Unstoppable7__: Ugh, that tanks. I really wanted to see some of the faces when I go all glowly on 'em, and now they can shut it down? Really, that's just rude._

_Geek-One__: Yeah, I know. Sapper could of been a great tool to slap down some of the supers causing trouble. It'd of gotten into villain hands eventually, but the fact they got it before it went into the manufactured stage worries me. GJ has the data, but making another prototype is going to take some time, so getting a working model is pretty important since that would catapult the process back on schedule._

_Unstoppable7__: Villains do like to steal tech before it's even in the prototype stage, so I'm not surprised. I am surprised how easily it was stolen, by the sounds of it._

_Geek-One__: Well, Dementor had a super on his side who infiltrated the base before crippling the response team so it wasn't a random theft. They also thought he was going for the Centurion Project; it was in the same facility._

_KP131__: I thought the Centurion Project was black listed as being too difficult to reproduce and set to be continued at a much later date?_

_Geek-One__: It was, but even the prototype was dangerous, as you proved._

_Unstoppable7__: I gotta go soon. Good luck with Dementor, KP. See you in a few weeks._

_KP131__: Cya, Ron._

XX

**11:55 PM Mountain Time**

**Middleton, Colorado**

**12 Hours Later...**

_Beep beep be-beep_.

"Wade?" Kim asked with a yawn as she answered from her bed, blinking tiredly, "What's the sitch, and can it wait until morning?"

_"Sorry Kim; robbery in progress. Someone's breaking into the Tri-City museum!"_

Kim was awake immediately as she slid out of bed, "I'm on it." She knew the museum had escaped a lot of damage from the attack, but doing an expo on villainy so soon was, in Kim's mind, a hilariously _stupid_ idea, and just asking for something like this. She somehow felt like this had happened before, but couldn't place her finger on what mission; she attributed that to a mix of being too tired and how many missions she'd done. "On my way," she said as she hurried, getting her gear on, and quietly ran down to the garage, hoping her family wouldn't wake up.

Getting into the Sloth and opening the garage door with a remote inside the car, she turned it on and checked the gas out of habit; _Low; right, I'll have to fill it up on the way back..._ she thought as she drove out, and into the silent night.

At least, silent for now. She called Wade; "Alright, Wade, what's at the expo and what should I know?"

"_You'd be surprised; there's the usual plethora of failed doomsday devices, a few Lil' Diablos, at least two cryogenic rays, a non-operating death ray..."_ Wade explained, like he was reading off a list. It didn't sound to Kim like anything any real villain wanted to steal. They'd just make their own usually.

"What about artifacts with power? Ancient stuff; Stuff most modern archeologists would dismiss as fantasy that probably isn't."

"_There's the ancient text Monkey Fist tried when you were stuck with Miss Hatchet... and the amulet that nearly devolved you."_

"Thanks Wade," she sarcastically answered as unpleasant memories came back, "Anything else?"

_"Tome of Treachery's scheduled to be there, but it's currently in-transit under heavily armed GJ guard." _Wade continued with a frown.

"Define heavily armed."

"_On-loan M1 Abrams battle tanks, GJ hovercraft armed to the teeth, some GJ Specter named Atton Williams, and enough agents for an infantry division. They already kicked away several villains trying to steal it."_

"Right..." she slowly answered, "Anything else besides the T-O-T?"

"_There is a few infernal texts that probably had use way back when... looks like there's some samples of World War Two experiments by the Nazis... there's a "Jar of Osiris" there as well..."_

Kim shook her head, "I'll figure it out when I get there. Can you get me some security feed?"

Wade nodded as he began typing rapidly into his computer, and she saw footage of someone moving by. It was a man wearing chainmail with a white tabard with a purple circle, a slightly darker four-point star, and an even darker circle as the center of it. He also wore full helmet looking not unlike one from World War One with a faceplate, and he was also carrying a roughly forty-inch long sword. "Hello medieval," she commented as the man turned, revealing the shield inscribed with the same purple four-point star mounted on his left arm. A second soldier similarly armored was turning with a crossbow that charged with some form of blue-white energy and pulled the trigger, shooting the camera out.

Another image switched in, showing a PBD riot soldier charging a robed figure with his face obscured by a hood, the same insignia on the shields threaded onto his sleeves. Another PBD soldier fired his GJA-13 energy rifle at him, but the figure had several flashes envelope him as the energy rounds hit, a shielding bubble forming with runes traced along it absorbing the energy hits harmlessly. The robed figure then hurled several energy projectiles as a swordsman charged up and met the riot soldier. The riot soldier held his own against the swordsman with his heavier shield, steadily forcing the swordsman back. Unfortunately, the other PBD soldier was blown into the wall by the projectiles, smacking his armored head against the wall and, collapsing into a slump on the floor. The robed figure than looked at the riot soldier meeting his swordsman, and energy formed around the figure's hands, which sped out, grappling the soldier's arms and legs, holding him in place. The soldier shouted as the swordsman knocked him in the head with the palm of the sword. The camera feed cut as the robed figure held a hand towards it and a blast of color shot forward into it.

"These aren't regular goons," Kim decided, she didn't know who this guy was, but he was pretty good and had access to odd laser-like gear, "Wade, does PBD know?"

"_Yeah; but they were caught on a bad time, they'll be delayed a bit. You have to stop the robbery, Kim!"_

"All over it," she said as she saw the museum ahead, and pulled into a parking space, hurrying out and running towards the doors. They seemed to glow a green color in a low brightness, and as she grabbed the handle and pulled, it didn't budge. "Wade," she said, tapping a button on her wrist Kimmunicator, "The doors are jammed, can you do anything?"

"_Hang on... aw man Kim, someone's locked it with some sort of energy field. Not going to work; try one of the upper-room windows."_

"Got it, Wade," she said, firing her grappling hook up, rappelling up the side of the building and she opened a window Wade unlocked remotely since they were electronic, sliding inside. She looked up, and saw a swordsman ahead, who looked at her and shouted a warning. Kim charged forward as he brought his blade to bear, but she ducked under his swing and grabbed his sword arm, twisting it painfully, and knocked the blade out of his hands. She dodged as he swung his shield-arm around as he growled in pain, knocking himself in the face as it followed through. Kim smiled and went low, leg sweeping the swordsman who hit the floor with a loud _thud_. He groaned, turning to push himself up, but Kim jumped onto him, tackling him and keeping him on the floor. She didn't bother trying to rip the helmet off, instead punching him in the gut, feeling her hands hurt as she hit him in his tabard and chainmail covered torso. The man gasped a last time and seemed to collapse unconscious. Kim got up and moved on, checking Wade's map for the location of the robed figure. He was ahead; she saw a door open and heard a PBD soldier shouting. She ran in as the soldier was blown out the door over her head, and saw several swordsmen and a crossbowman within. There was a female swordsman amongst the group, but otherwise it was just strong and buff looking men.

"Back off, boys," Kim said loudly to get their attention, noticing the robed figure at some glass case with a book in it.

"Oh brilliant." the robed figure said, his face obscured by his hood as he looked up at her, "It's the cheerleader. Isn't it past your _bedtime_?"

"Hey, least I'm living in the modern era." she retorted.

"This is none of your concern, girl, we're simply here to handle something that is far over your head."

"I dunno," Kim answered with a frown as she crossed her arms, "I've seen some pretty weird things." With that, she leapt forward at the swordswoman with a handspring, hitting her in the chest and sending her into the crossbowman, knocking the two next to an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus as a blue shot sped into the air and exploded against the ceiling. Kim ducked as a swordsman swung at her; she grabbed his sword arm as he stabbed, and held on, swinging him around and sending him into another pair of swordsmen as they charged, knocking the entire group onto the floor. This left only a single swordsman and the robed figure.

"She's amazing!" the swordsman shouted in awe.

"Get her!" the robed figure shouted, "I need time get the tome!"

The swordsman charged and Kim was ready for them. She ducked under him as he moved in shield-first, grabbing him by the upper part of his shield arm. The shield slammed against her left bicep and caused her vision to briefly blur as the hit dazed her, but she ignored it for now as she hurled him around and into the figure, the two tangling into each other as they landed with painful sounding thuds next to an old totem of a fly-covered pig's head. The robed figure pushed himself up, dusting off angrily as other swordsmen pushed themselves up as well.

"That was a mistake," the robed figure said, "Do you even know what you're doing? Who you face?"

"I was going to say a bunch of LARP geeks who need to talk to my cousin Larry, but you're obviously not bright enough to fit in with them." Kim tauntingly retorted, putting a hand behind her back as she gestured for him to come at her with the other. He growled at her. Suddenly, his hands glowed with a light blue color that was charging as far as she could tell. He hurled his fist towards her and an orb of energy sped at her. Kim leapt out of the way as it sped past, hitting an oversized fishbowl and knocking it over onto one of the swordsmen as he pulled himself up, knocking him back down.

Kim dodged several more of the energy strikes, recognizing them as similar to what Dragon-kin used in Australia. She made a mental note of the fact as a swordsman rushed her, swinging. She ducked under the slash and kicked him in the back, knocking him face-first onto the ground. She turned as the swordswoman attacked. Kim leapt over her when she realized that GJ needed identities from the camera feeds. She pulled out two sticks of gum from her tool belt and hurled them into her mouth, chewing as she dodged the blades of the swordsmen, knowing that one mistake and she would lose a limb or worse: her life.

She pulled a stick of gum out of her mouth as it was chewed enough to activate, and she hurled it at the faceplate of the swordswoman. The gum hit and expanded, completely covering her face and causing her to swear like a sailor as she dropped her sword, ripping at the gum to no avail. Kim smiled as she pulled out the second piece and hit one of the swordsmen with it, getting a similar result. She ran up and grabbed the swordsman as he struggled, hurling him into the swordswoman, knocking the two into a pile as they roughly untangled, yanking off straps from their shields and letting them clatter to the floor. Another shot from the crossbowman sailed over her as she dodged.

Kim ducked as another swordsman swung at her and overshot. As he turned for another attack, she drew her shock stick, aiming for an incoming swordsman. He saw what she was going to do and raised his shield. The electric burst spat forward and hit the shield causing the electric arc to spiral like a tree splintering, but some of the splintered arc sped by and caused the swordsman to shout in pain as he was zapped to the floor, dropping his sword and landing on his back near it. She glanced over, seeing that the two swordsmen she'd hit with the gum had yanked their helmets off. Hoping Wade was quick on the uptake as usual, she focused on the swordsman in front of her who was advancing with his shield and was poking at her with his sword. She suspected it might have worked had he was in a phalanx formation and was not just by himself. Kim slid to his left, taking advantage of the shield he had and hit him in the back, knocking him forward. She heard chanting and turned to see the robed figure was doing something and as he did it the book within the glass case was fading. She sprinted at the figure, dodging a crossbow bolt that shot over her and tackled him. The figure swore a vehement oath as she brought him down to the floor, and snarled out a curse, his hands glowing as he hurled a wide net-like projectile of energy at her in point blank range.

Kim suddenly found herself propelled backwards, flying away as the net caught her. She grunted as she hit the wall between the windows, and landed on her knees. She pushed herself up, and saw the two unmasked swordsmen charging. The woman was a red head and had fair skin that showed some signs of tanning, and her hair was in a ponytail, while the man's short brown hair contrasted with his tanned skin. Kim hoped GJ's database had those two goons in its archives as she sprinted towards them. She heard a helicopter in the distance, and knew reinforcements were almost there.

She ducked under the swing of the now shield-less swordswoman, the two-handed swing nearly vertically bisecting Kim, but a timely leap spared her of the cleavage. She landed briefly on the swordswoman's shoulders, before leaping off towards the robed figure as he began to chant again...

…only for a solid feeling, cylindrical-like projectile to hit her square in the gut, shooting pain up her spine. For a second, she thought she'd just been made a pincushion by a crossbow bolt. She was afraid in that instant to look down, not wanting to just die in a pool of her own blood in such a _mundane_ fight. As she hit the floor she looked down to where she'd been hit: the crossbow 'bolt' had indeed hit her, but the energy ball it was made up of had simply exploded against her and left a few faintly glowing marks that faded rapidly. She decided to count her blessings and got up again as the swordsmen began to switch their shields to back harnesses. She sighed and returned to the fight, avoiding the blows of the swords and targeting the vulnerable joints in the armor, finding it tougher to fight them now that they weren't encumbered by their shields. She wondered if it'd be easier for them to be in plate rather than chain mail as then at least they'd have a hard time getting back up form all the weight. She whirled around, kicking a swordsman in the chest, knocking his blade into the ceiling as he flew back into a disabled cryogenic death ray. She leapt past two more of the swordsmen and rushed the figure, kicking him in the gut, followed by a pair of strikes to the face, knocking his hood off. The man looked to be clean-shaven with a smooth brown color to his well-cared for hair, and he snarled at her as he blasted her back with his magic.

"That does it!" he shouted as magic glowed around his hands; blood red energy with black outlines that could send the chill of death down one's spine, "By the authority invested in me by the Conclave, for preventing an intervention for the good of humanity, you have earned _death._"

"That's original," Kim sarcastically commented as she charged, flipping over one of the swordsmen trying to block her as the spellcaster chanted in the unknown language he used. She was almost in range and was already pulling back for a punch when she felt sharp jabs of pain shooting into her as the chanting ceased, the magic user holding his hand up like Vader himself as he stared at her. She felt herself lifted into the air by some unknown force she couldn't resist, struggling as she was assaulted from all sides by loud noise, pain, blinding images, and more pain. She felt her body spasm in pain as whatever magic he used continued to assault her. It seemed to be trying to just _kill_ her outright with minimal fuss. She refused to give, fighting vigorously to maintain consciousness as a battle of wills began. She struggled as she tried to resist, and could hear the spellcaster grunting as they continued to fight.

She felt sharp jabs to her heart as the fight continued and she could tell her breathing was getting harder and more labored as her lungs felt like they were collapsing. She tried to ignore that, to focus on surviving, but it was becoming steadily harder to do. Her legs were locking as if rigor mortis was already taking hold. And most of all, she felt the cold, the shiver as cold as the Russian winter itself.

But before the struggle of wills could continue, there was a loud crash...

XX

XX

XX

PBD Sergeant Daniel Shane, riding onboard the PBD gunship, swore as he saw the robed criminal using some sort of powers on Kim Possible; "We need an opening! Wolf, you're on!"

"Yes sir! Don't try this at home, sir!" said his squad's grenade specialist who switched to a directional fragmentation grenade instead of the normal web and glue grenades before he blasted the window to sand with his grenade launcher. The ten or so hostiles to whirled around to look at them. He nodded to his men and shouted, "Let's GO!"

Leaping over through the un-paned window, he landed in the museum and opened fire with his GJA-13, catching one of the swordsmen in the chest with the burst, who staggered from the stun hits, but small flashes hinted that something was absorbing the energy hits to a partial degree. The other swordsmen quickly drew their shields, using them as cover against their stun bolts as they closed in. _Damn_, he thought as he grabbed a web grenade from his belt and hurled it at an incoming swordsman, _they're good._ He took several shots at the robed figure and managed to hit him, but the energy rounds were simply blocked by some sort of rune-engraved energy shield that flashed on impact. He didn't know _who_ this guy was, but he was powerful and carried something to protect him against their energy rounds.

One of his soldiers had been closed in on by the swordswoman, and his GJA-14 shotgun had been knocked away. The soldier leaned back to avoid a follow up swing before decking her in the face and knocking her onto her back. Given his size, this was no surprise as he benched three-hundred pounds regularly. He pulled out his pistol and said, "Those who live by the sword get shot by those who-OOF!" he'd been hit by the crossbowman's energy bolt, knocking him into a display case with some random relic that he didn't bother to try and recognize and knocked it over. Daniel focused on the swordsman in front of him who had closed the distance. As his rifle was knocked away by an uppercut swing from the swordsman, he flipped his energy gauntlets on and ducked a follow up sword slash which caught his shoulder guard and stuck. The swordsman pulled it out as Daniel waded into him, tackling the swordsman and pinning him to the floor.

"_ENOUGH!"_ shouted someone whose voice was echoing with _power_. He suddenly felt himself lifted off of the swordsman and send flying back. He grunted as he hit the ground, pushing himself up as the swordsmen fell back to their leader. He almost swore as he realized what was going on;

"This is Sergeant Shane to Air Support; _we need tear gas missiles, NOW!_ Don't let them get away! Everyone! Hold your breath!"

"_Sir..."_

"Just do it, they're getting away!"

Now he was glad that their training included being exposed to undiluted tear gas. He just hoped his men didn't kill him for putting them through that hell hole again.

XX

Kim had been dropped to the floor, the concentration of the mage having been disrupted by the timely PBD arrival. She couldn't understand the PBD sergeant's shout, she was still dazed from _whatever_ she'd been hit by.

She shook her head as she pushed herself up, opening her eyes to see the PBD soldiers were taking cover oddly enough. The mage was encircled by his men, chanting as rune circles began appearing around him with dull yet loud thuds and blinding flashes. She rushed at him eyes shut to avoid blinding herself. The PBD sergeant was shouting something, but she didn't hear as she charged. She heard several loud _whooshes _and windows breaking as she leapt at the mage, opening her eyes as she tackled at him. Just before she made contact however, he suddenly _vanished_ in a final flash of light and a rune circle rising up from below. With that, he and his men had disappeared into thin air. As Kim went through where he was, she didn't feel anything.

She hit the floor behind where he was instead and she heard several light pops following heavy thuds, hearing a serpentine hissing sound. She barely had time to realize what had happened before she got a full load of _tear gas_ to the face and a lungful of coughed violently and constantly as her eyes burned in pain, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably as she understood just _why_ it was called tear gas. She started to crawl away, trying to get to the doorway and out of the tear gas. She could hear thuds and other people shouting in pain. The other PBD soldiers must have been pulling themselves out and collapsing in the effort.

XX

Officer Hobble swore as he saw the tear gas spilling out of the Tri-City museum and grabbed his gas mask from his police cruiser's glove compartment as he pulled in, putting it and the goggles it came with on, and sprinted into the museum, several other SWAT officers with him as they reached the door, pushing it open. He didn't know what energy field Wade had warned him about was, but it was gone now. He sprinted inside as he keyed his gas mask, making sure it was on. He found the stairs, and moved up quickly as other SWAT officers cleared the ground floor. Coming up, he found the gassed room, and saw Kim crawling, trying to get out. _Aw hell,_ he thought, running inside and helping her up. "Easy there," he said as she dragged her feet and leaned her on his shoulder. She was coughing violently and breathing hard from the gas as it literally ripped into her and agitated everything it could, "You'll be fine." He added as reassuringly as he could while he pulled her out of the room and to the end of the hall, laying her against the end of it where there was a window.

He forced open the window with a grunt before he dialed his headset as he moved back in, "This is Hound-Lead to Canine Command, we need an ambulance pronto! We got PBD soldiers suffering from a tear-gas mishap, I repeat: _men down from a_ _tear-gas mishap_."

"_Copy that Hound-Lead, there's a PBD medical team already on the way."_

"Copy that," he confirmed, "Hound-lead out." With that, he keyed the radio off and pulled another PBD soldier out and once out of the gassed room left him near Kim, who was still coughing and shaking, and went back in as additional SWAT officers came up to help get everyone out, getting them to fresh air.

XX

**6:03 AM**

**July 23rd, 2007**

**Middleton Hospital**

**Middleton, Colorado**

It was about six in the morning when the doctors were confident Kim was alright and discharged her from the hospital. They had done an X-ray when they were informed by Hobble (who'd seen the security tapes) what had happened in there with the spellcaster, though Hobble thought it was just a super with a wide variety of powers. As far as they could tell from the scans, she was perfectly fine and would recover fully by the end of the day. Kim wasn't so sure however as she was aching all over and walking send faint jabs of pain up her legs. Hobble said it was likely just the tear gas, but Kim suspected a tech scan from Wade would reveal more given she'd been effected by magic; _again_.

She was in the Sloth now, sitting in the driver's seat unbuckled and the car still off, but the windows were rolled down as she breathed in the fresh air. Her eyes were still stinging from the exposure to tear gas, and she hoped she _never_ had to experience that again. _Dying is probably more pleasant than that,_ she thought as she rubbed her eyes again and glanced into the car mirror. Her eyes were red from irritation and at that point she just wanted to go to bed again to sleep it off. She completely forgot about the Sloth's low gas in that desire. She sighed, and buckled up, turning the car on.

_Beep beep be-beep._

She touched a button on the dashboard and Wade appeared in the center screen on the Sloth. "What's the sitch?" she asked.

"_I was calling to make sure you're OK, how you feeling?"_

"Terrible;" Kim answered, "Eyes are _still_ burning. Who the heck thought it was a good idea to call in a tear gas strike?"

As Wade answered, an image of the PBD soldier in question appeared: "_Daniel Shane; PBD Sergeant. Track record for getting the job done by whatever means necessary, even blasting himself full of tear gas. He's not exactly popular for that, but he gets his men through."_ The image went down as Wade was checking something on his end.

Kim sighed as she pulled out of the parking spot Hobble had left the Sloth in (why he'd done so, she didn't know) and drove off into the early morning's quiet, a great contrast to the violence that had happened at the museum. "Anything on what they were trying to steal?"

"_General Malta is speaking with the museum curator now; want me to link you through?"_

"Sure," she said, and Wade typed. The image switched to General Malta's office, from a side-mounted camera.

"_Miss Possible;_" Malta said with a nod, likely looking at his computer screen, which he moved for the curator's sake, "_This is Mister Cuirass, the curator for the museum. Tell me again what this book is?"_

The curator nodded and spoke in a thick accent, "_The tome in question is called the _Liber Arcessere_. It is an ancient text recovered from a dig in Austria roughly one hundred and eighty years ago by a Prussian officer. The book was later stolen and resurfaced recently at the hands of the villain known as Doctor Quantum, but efforts by Miss Possible here recovered it roughly five years ago."_

Kim frowned, "I don't remember that sitch."

"_It was one of your early ones,"_ Wade said, "_Think it may of been the first one that I helped you with... yeah, it was."_

_"Regardless,"_ Malta said, "_What does the text supposedly _do_, Mister Cuirass?"_

Cuirass smiled, and said, "_According to myth, the tome contains the instructions for what you might call summoning magic. Supposedly used by ancient shamans or priests or whatnot as a store for magical spells that can summon beings from beyond to Earth; for a limited period of time, typically, but the book supposedly has rituals designed for more permanent summoning."_

"_And what would it summon?"_ Malta asked pointedly.

"_Oh, the usual slew of mythological critters, but little of the ones that'd really classify as near-human oddly enough. Our translations of the text indicate that it does include summoning of creatures called "vulnari", likely a play on the Latin word for wound, but that may just be ghost stories."_

Wade was typing something before he said, "_Hey, Kim, I just found something on this text. There was a bounty posted on its location by a company called, in an English translation, 'Silver Steel Manufacturing' back in the mid-late 1860's, roughly when it was unearthed by that Prussian officer Mister Cuirass mentioned. The company was Austrian in origin, and the officer disappeared shortly after. The Austro-Prussian War had ended mere days before it was recovered. Completely fades off the charts after that though."_

"That's a coincidence, Wade," Kim said with a frown, "I don't think anyone was going to begrudge an officer of an archeological discovery he happened to make."

"_Unless they happened to know more..."_ Malta said, rubbing his chin, "_Do a little more digging on that, Mister Load, if you can. There may be a connection."_

"_Is there anything else, General?"_ Mister Cuirass asked, "_It sounds as if I am going to be happening to sit in on a strategic discussion."_ Kim smirked briefly as she turned into her driveway, shutting the car down in the garage, but left the screen on and didn't shut the garage door. She leaned back, inhaling the fresh air as Malta asked Cuirass about removing the _Liber Arcessere_ from the exhibit.

"_Absolutely not, General!"_ he answered, "_This is a key point of villainous study, an actual object considered important in one of the first villain-defeats by Miss Possible here. It's worth having in our exhibit."_

"_I have to disagree. My men had to _gas themselves_ with god-damn _tear gas_ to stop it from being stolen. I don't want them to do that again."_ Malta answered, slamming his fist on the desk hard enough that his small glass of scotch flipped out of the cup and landed back into it. "_At the very least, I want it kept in a secure vault at all times until the exhibit. At that point, we can continue the previous arrangement."_

"_Hrmpf!"_ Mister Cuirass answered, "_I will speak to my boss, but we won't cancel the exhibit."_

"_Never said you had to, but I would highly recommend at least removing the _Liber Arcessere_ to a more secure location. Good day, Mister Cuirass._"

After he left, Kim asked, "Did you guys capture the goon I knocked out on my way in?"

"_Negative; according to restored security cameras, he crawled back into the fight and was teleported out. Out of curiosity, why'd you aim to make them take off their helmets?"_ Malta asked.

"Hoped Wade or GJ could pull an ID check. What's the sitch there, Wade?"

"_According to GJ, nothing. These guys are similar to the ones encountered by a few GJ agents in Rodegan two months back, but for the individuals there's absolutely no trace of them _anywhere_. No ID's, no birth certificates, no driver's licenses," _he shook his head with a confused look, _"absolutely nothing. GJ has maybe a half-dozen facial matches for each of them, but with only images to go by it's unlikely to be them. All of those guys are far from Middleton anyways and none of them would fit the bill."_ Wade explained, pausing before he added: "_At least, in any known database."_

Kim smiled as she remembered Wade's hacking skills, "Then hack into the unknown."

"_You got it. It'll take a while though, without a name to work from I have to do a lot of manual digging. May not be possible either, but if it's anything remote to online, I can get into it."_

"Got it. Anything else?"

"_Just one thing,"_ Malta said, "_I want you on-call for the exhibit when it's on. Knowing history, some villain will be dumb enough to try and take it. There'll be a PBD gunship present to maintain pursuit as well a serving as a deterrent, but I think this shows just how insane some of these people are. I'm also going to be stationing two dozen additional soldiers nearby and keeping fast transport ready with more, but with civilians around tear gas isn't exactly cleared for free fire, and even if GJA's have stun settings, any hit civilians is too much paperwork to even think of. Better that you're there since you don't use anything that'd cause that kind of a mess."_

"Understood;" Kim said, "Just beep me and I'll see if I can get there."

"_Copy that. General Malta out, over."_ With that, he cut the transmission. Kim looked at Wade, who nodded.

"_Get some sleep Kim, that tear gas couldn't of been pleasant."_

"Sure you don't want me to swing by for a tech scan? I got blasted with magic again."

"_Nah, hospital did it to make sure nothing happened. I gave them a tech scanner a while ago, remember? To determine if there was any radiation leftover from some of those walkers going down."_

Kim nodded, recalling the Tweebs mentioning from their experiments that the lorwardian walkers' power supplies were somewhat hazardous due to mild radiation. "Got it. Anything?"

"_Yeah, there was. They found the residuals of some energy that was working at stopping your heart, lungs, et cetera. It wouldn't of been noticed with any lesser scanner, but the residuals were found with a tech one. The coroner would basically of had to say you lost the will to live if he didn't have a tech scanner."_

"And here I was thinking poetry wasn't a requirement to get through medical school." Kim commented dryly as her face curled in disgust, not appreciating the implications of whatever this villain used on her, "Alright Wade, I'll talk to you later."

"_You got it, Kim."_ With that, Wade switched off, and Kim got out of the car, heading inside, her eyelids heavy as she unlocked and opened the door to her house, and went inside, stumbling slightly as she went up to her room, and collapsed into bed.

XX

**Possible Residence**

**One Hour Later**

Kim groaned as someone knocked on the door to her room, and rolled around, rubbing her eyes as she pushed herself back up. "What is it?" she asked groggily, blinking away as her eyes stung.

"Breakfast is ready," her mother said, then walked back down. Kim blinked several times and gently pushed herself out of bed, noting that despite being somewhat sore, her limbs weren't sending small jabs of pain every time she took a step. She wondered why her mother was waking her up despite the late-night mission and the say in the hospital. She walked down the stairs tiredly and as she entered the kitchen, she could see the surprised look on her family's faces as the news droned on in the background. Obviously they hadn't expected her to walk in wearing her mission gear, especially dirtied from the fight early in the morning.

"Kim, what happened?" her father asked, dropping his jaw and his paper. Her mother's eyes widened and the Tweebs looked at each other confusedly. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Kim said, "Just a little tear gas."

Her mother dropped her coffee to the floor, the cup didn't shatter, but the hot drink spilled over the floor. Her father didn't answer, his face scrunched as he tried to understand what had just been said and the Tweebs just looked at each other. Fortunately, the news was well timed as usual.

_"In other news, there was a break-in this morning at the Tri-City Museum. Unidentified robbers attempted armed entry but were foiled by world-famous teen hero Kim Possible and timely arrival of local PBD officers. Unfortunately, the exhibit was damaged by the use of tear gas in this scenario, but sources indicate no one was hurt. According to the Curator, Mister Cuirass..."_

Her family stared at her again as Kim sat down at the table as the news continued, "What?" she asked, with a faint smile, "I've taken on giant robotic walkers, supervillains with every cliché imaginable, alien invaders, a few eldritch abominations, and pretty much lived spy movies. Is this _really_ that weird in comparison?"

"Uh," her father stuttered before clearing his throat, "Kim, are you sure that you're alright?"

"I'm fine; the docs said that I just needed to wait it out. It's nothing horrible or anything, just annoying." Kim breezily answered as she began to eat, "No drama there."

Her parents looked at each other concernedly, and Kim began to wonder if they were beginning to have second thoughts about her hobby. _Oh come on, that's ridiculous;_ she thought,_ I've come home practically looking like the living dead after taking some of Shego's plasma to the face, they're not going to think that I can't handle it._

XX

**Twenty-Five Minutes Later**

James Possible sighed as he watched the Sloth ride out, Kim at the wheel with the twins. She was going to drop them off at Ron's house to babysit Hana and get gas for the Sloth. He put his lab coat on as he talked, "You know, there are times when I'm wondering if we should of done more to curb her world saving earlier."

"James, be reasonable, she's a young woman now, an adult. She doesn't need to be babysat anymore." his wife responded as she read through a rundown of what she'd have that morning the hospital, "She's fought things that professionals would balk at and never backed down."

"I know," he answered, sighing and putting a hand to his head, "But I can't help but feel we've been irresponsible with her. We've let her do these, these things that most parents would ground their kids for decades over without anything more than a comment or two. Heck, we've joined some of them." He looked at her with concern, "I'm just afraid that we let herself get turned into someone who can't last long enough to enjoy life. Once she's out in the world, people are going to wonder when she's going to get involved in other things." He paused, sighing as he looked out the window again, "There's so many issues that people expect her to fix because of what she's done. Terrorism, the mafia, conservative nutcases taking things too far, human rights violations, all of it. Did we raise her to be a soldier in that war and _only_ that? Because with how things've gone, people will expect that from her, and she has such a," he stuttered, "she's a..."

"Red blooded Possible?" his wife offered.

"Yeah. She is, but I just can't help but think that we've let her become stuck on this path, to be that always sacrificing woman who doesn't get a chance to be _herself_ outside of that mold." He shivered at the prospect, and was more worried than ever now when he saw how _casually_ she took being gassed. "Did we raise her to be that?"

"No, but James: are you against her choosing this as a lifestyle if she wants to?"

He smiled ruefully, "No, I'm not. I'm proud of her; of making a stand and keeping people safe, giving them hope." he sighed as he trailed off, the smile fading quickly, "But I just can't help but shake a feeling that we encouraged it too much, that we made her think that what she did was the only thing she could do as an adult. Sure, she calls it a hobby, but I honestly can't help but think we basically let her seal her future in stone with this."

"James," Ann said as she walked up and put a hand on his shoulder, "If you're proud about what she's doing, why do you feel guilty about it? What's wrong with Kim choosing to take on a difficult lifestyle if she wants to?"

"Nothing, it's just-" he was cut off quickly however by a sharp retort:

"Just nothing. If we didn't raise her right, she wouldn't of tried to step up, and we'd all be stuck under Drew Lipski right now. If we didn't raise her right, she'd of turned out like Bonnie, or worse, Shego. We raised her right, James, and you know it. Don't be in denial because she's a little worn from it. If Kim couldn't handle it, maybe then you can say we failed, but not beforehand."

XX

**Three Hours Later**

**Beuno Nacho**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim leaned against the booth as she waited for Monique, having left the Stoppable residence earlier as the Tweebs felt they were alright. Her eyes still hurt and she was still mildly light headed, but she'd walked out of worse before. She shook her head, closing her eyes, wanting to go back to sleep, but she had to get through the day until then.

"You OK?" Monique asked as she sat down with an order of nachos, a concerned frown crossing her face.

"Yeah," Kim answered, "Just tired. I had an incident at the Tri-City Museum."

"I saw the news report;" Monique answered, "Can't believe the PBD guy was crazy enough to call in tear gas. What was he thinking?"

"Probably for the best he did Monique, this new guy nearly _killed_ me." She countered, "Better it went like that rather than the other way. Still, museum's being stubborn and won't yank the thing they were after from the exhibit."

"Ya don't say." She paused, then asked "Speaking of that exhibit, my dad got tickets to see it. You have any?"

"Dad got some last week," Kim answered, "Should be interesting to take a look at some of this stuff. Wade's coming too, so if something goes wrong like Drakken trying to steal something, we'll be there."

Monique chuckled, "Ah, who's going to be crazy enough to try and rob the place when there's a few dozen soldiers and an attack chopper on the roof?"

Kim smirked, "Good point, but you know Drakken and all the other whackos." She leaned back into her seat, smiling, "A lot of the stuff in there is from missions I did, heck, I think they put a lot of things I was involved with together in one exhibit."

"Hah, just wait, things you used will wind up in museums one day, no doubt about it." Monique commented, "Your grappling hooks, the battle suit, replicas of mission gear you've worn, little trophies or tidbits from your missions, you name it."

Kim blushed at the prospect, "Ah come on, that's just exaggerating, I don't think that'll happen. Maybe I'd be put in as part of a larger exhibit of like a history of crime-fighting or something, but one focused on me? Hah, doubt it." She shook her head in amusement before she paused as she glanced out the window; "Take a look; someone's finally out of summer school." She pointed with a thin and nearly predatory smile. Monique looked out at Bonnie walking by with an annoyed look on her face.

"Hah, she doesn't look happy." Monique commented with a smirk, "Whadd'ya think? Broke up with Junior?"

"Nah, they're made for each other." Kim answered, "Snotty, smug, arrogant? Check on all fronts. Junior filthy rich? Check. Actually, Wade mentioned Junior was going to be coming over soon to pick her up."

"Hey, look at it this way girl. If his dad pulls another scheme, you might get a chance to beat Bonnie biscuit."

Kim smiled at the thought; "Hah, wouldn't be worth it. She backs down instantly."

"And by backs down, you mean dissolves into tears?" offered Josh Mankey, who was sitting in the next booth. Kim didn't notice him earlier and glanced up to see him leaning over.

"Yeah… when'd you get here?" Kim asked.

"Got here earlier; waiting for Tara to show." Josh explained as he got down and stood up to stand next to their table, "You didn't happen to see her, did you?"

"No." Monique answered with a frown, "How late is she?"

"Pretty late. I called her dad, but he said she was coming." And Josh sounded worried too. Kim frowned as she considered the implications. _Probably nothing, but you never know._ Kim then called Wade, who asked, "_Hey Kim; what's going on?"_

"Wade, can you tap into Jim and Tim's satellite for a minute?"

"_No problem, they aren't using it."_ he started typing as he asked,_ "What's the static?"_

"Tara was supposed to meet Josh here at Beuno Nacho. She's late. Don't suppose you got anything on your end?"

"_No I..."_ Wade frowned as he paused, squinting at something on his monitor,_ "hey, what's this?"_ he asked with a frown before horror dawned on his face,_ "uh oh."_

"Uh-oh?" Josh asked, getting out of his seat to look over at Wade, "What's wrong?"

"_I just got a hit on the site! Someone's demanding we hand over you-know-what or Tara would be taken away,"_ Wade's jaw dropped,_ "who is this guy?_" he asked with an irritated voice, "_Lemme stream the video."_

Kim grimaced as she saw the robed figure from earlier appear on the screen; "_Greetings, Miss Possible. I understand your reaction towards us was hostile, and in the end, it is _your_ mistake, but the tome must not remain in the Tri-City museum for the sake of humanity. I have met a friend of yours and have currently detained her. Now, don't get into a fit about legality, Conclave law happens to permit it as she has potential, but we have a clause to overlook that detail if the tome is brought to us. Here is our location."_

A map appeared, showing a meeting place at Mount Middleton, not too far from the space center; the figure's voice then added, "_Oh, do not bring any PBD or GJ soldiers, we'll be ready for any trickery you might have. Such would not end in a _pleasant_ manner for any of us."_ With that, the message ended.

"The heck's this?" Josh asked angrily, a rare sight, "She's not even involved with whatever!"

"I know," Kim answered as she felt her face harden and limbs tighten in anger, "Wade, call Malta and tell him what just happened, we may need some PBD med-evac. You figure out anything from the vid?"

"_All I know is that these guys have magic which means whatever you do, you need knock out the guy in the robe first. Shock stick, gum, pants him, anything."_

"You have any gadgets I could use to nullify his powers?"

"_If we had the sapper I could of given you a one-shot handheld device of it, but we don't. Try wailing on him. Yeah, that should work." _Wade smiled at the thought as it clicked, _"Break his concentration before he can use any magic. I'll load up anything that can be used as a projectile, hopefully won't be deflected off."_

Kim nodded, "I'm on my way. What do you think, Wade? Bring it to him?"

"_You'll have to, I don't see how we can get Tara out any other way…" _he frowned a moment as something beeped on his end, then his face dawned with the realization: _"Oh, hang on, General Malta's on the line."_

Malta, gruff and professional as usual in his PBD uniform, appeared on the screen, "_Miss Possible; are you alone?"_

"No; I'm at Beuno Nacho," she answered as she glanced around, "I'll move to the Sloth if you want."

"_Your car? Good. We'll discuss it there."_

Kim got up, and looked at Josh, "I'll get Tara back, safe and sound, don't you worry."

"Thank you," Josh said, "I know it's nothing unusual for you, but," he shuffled left and right a moment as he tried to find the right words, "Thank you, for a guy like me it's more than I could of asked."

"No big," she answered casually and walked out of the restaurant, getting into the Sloth and buckling up, turning the car on, "Wade, switch this to the Sloth; I'm heading home now."

"_Got it. You'll find a few flash-bangs in Jim and Tim's room, they were working on them for you. All tested, just need a sitch to use them in."_

"Flash bangs? As in flash bang grenades?" Kim asked with an amused smile, "Where'd they get military hardware like that?"

"_That's my question too,"_ Malta asked with a frown, "_I don't think they even have a perm…"_

"_Home-made,_" Wade explained, "_Look, if anything is going to prevent him from teleporting away it'll be a flash bang blinding him and his henchmen, never mind the bang. Oh, Kim, see if you can't get a chip onto him so I can track him after he teleports, just in case. There'll be one waiting for you."_

"Got it," Kim answered, "So, what's the plan? Go in empty handed and hope they show?"

"_Negative. I'm sending over my base's sniper, Corporal Giles Summers, Junior. He's a crack shot with his GJA-19 and he'll knock out the super. There's a civilian in trouble."_ Malta explained, "_If this clown is serious about kidnapping her, he needs to go down."_

"A _**sniper?**_" Kim asked loudly in surprise, "Really? Isn't that a little overkill?"

"_Don't argue with me, he's already on the way to the area by foot to avoid detection. Wear an earpiece, he'll give two clicks on channel oh-seven-six-one-alpha when he's ready and has a vantage point. Give him two clicks back on your wrist communication device and he'll slot the super."_

"I really don't think killing him is going to solve anything," Kim answered, "Doesn't he have stun lasers on that thing?"

"_Yes, but you aren't seriously…_"

"I don't kill, General," Kim answered with finality, "I understand you have different rules of engagement, but I'm not going to blow someone's head off because they're in the way. I don't blow Drakken's head off, do I?"

"_Miss Possible, there are civilian…"_

"There've been civilian lives at risk every time Drakken pulls out a doomsday decimator or whatever he has up his sleeve," Kim hotly retorted, "Never killed before. It shouldn't change now."

Malta sighed, "_So be it, but when he gets away, that's your fault."_

"_The goal is to rescue Tara, not arrest this guy,"_ Wade pointed out, "_If Kim can chip him or one of his henchmen and they get away, that's a bonus since we can use a GPS lock on them and find out where they're coming from. Maybe even completely shut down this 'Conclave' before it really becomes a threat."_

"_What about that guy's kill-power?_" Malta asked, "_If Possible gets hit with it, or Miss Strong…"_

"That's a risk I have to take, but I'm sure your sniper's stun rounds can disrupt any magic he slings." Kim answered with a deadly serious tone as she pulled into the driveway. "I may need to borrow the _Liber Arcessere_ so we can come and look honest; Wade, can you set it up?"

"_Easy. I'll chip the book too, just in case. Expo isn't for a few days, so we have time to get it back if he gets away with it."_

"Good," Kim said as she got out, "I'll be back once I'm suited up."

"_Don't bring the battle suit!"_ Wade shouted suddenly.

"Why?" Kim asked, surprised that _Wade_ of all people would tell her to ignore hi-tech, "This sounds like a battle suit mish."

"_If you suit up for a battle they'll know something's up and act accordingly."_ Wade pointed out, "_It's a no go on the battle suit unless you want to risk Tara."_

Kim paused, frowning, then nodded as she considered just who was saying it, "Alright Wade, I won't suit up, but I'll get in mission gear. If we get a lock on where they are, though, I want to suit up for this."

"_Of course, doubt they'll be miffed about that given what you go to in it."_ Wade said, "_Call me when you're on the way."_

XX

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron exhaled slowly as he meditated in his room, trying to connect with his magic more readily. As Sensei was fond of saying, "_Basics must never be forgotten, and must be constantly practiced, lest they are allowed to atrophy. An experienced warrior who becomes lazy in arrogance will lose to the young but dedicated student."_ He wasn't sure how basics could atrophy if they had to be used for the more advanced stuff, but he was the student for a reason. He thought back to the time he'd spent; he'd come a long way from where he was, but it still wasn't finished and they had only scratched the surface of his training, the raw basics. He would have a much longer road to take to learn the nuances of magic and how to use them. Regardless, he was confident that the basics he was learning would let him study on his own until the time came for formal education again with Sensei or another master until he learned properly. He wondered if it would of been easier for him to do this had he not stepped up like he did and Kim just physically beat the daylights out of Warhok and Warmonga or Drakken took care of them with his plants, but those thoughts faded as he continued mediating and trying to connect with his powers in a deeper way than before.

A half hour or so later he stopped, getting up and stretching. "Ooooh yeah," he groaned quietly to himself as a number of cracks sounded off in his body like a Fourth of July fireworks display, "That's a cramp." He glanced around for Rufus. the naked mole rat wasn't in his room. _Must of left or something,_ Ron thought, figuring that Rufus _would_ go get food while Ron was meditating. It was either that or he getting work on his twenty hours of sleep somewhere else.

As Ron walked by Sensei's room, which was in the center of the main dormitory, he heard discussion;

"_Indeed, there was an attempted Conclave intervention earlier to recover the Liber Arcessere from the Tri-City Museum. The caster leading the operation, one Lucas Thackeray, took a harsh approach."_ Said an Austrian-accented man. Ron suspected he knew who it was as he recognized it. Oddly, they were speaking English. He wasn't sure why they were speaking that since last time he was here, the two had been speaking in German. _Or was it Russian,_ he thought, trying to recall.

"_It is disturbing, then, that he tried to kill her."_ Sensei answered gravely, _"You said the Conclave thought her to be a key to the future, yet this shows dissonance in that belief."_

"_Thackeray was always temperamental as I understand it. Miss Possible completely botched his attempt to recover the tome and PBD showed up with a gunship, saving her life, which forced him to teleport out empty handed before they captured him. He said he was going to try again to keep the tome from falling into the wrong hands, and we haven't had communication since then. They're hoping you could talk to Mister Stoppable, who could get Miss Possible to let them take the tome to safety."_

Ron felt his anger rising as he tightened a fist; whoever these "Conclave" guys where, they _tried to kill Kim_ over a stupid book in a museum. He felt ready to burst in and shout that if they tried to kill her he wasn't going to do anything to help them when Sensei answered;

"_As him yourself. I believe his meditations have finished. Come in, Stoppable-san."_

Ron inhaled, opening the door and walked in. Sensei and the Austrian spellcaster, Fredrick von Vage, were sitting at the small table in the room. Ron bowed politely to Sensei and Fredrick nodded to him.

"So," Fredrick asked, "How much did you hear?"

"Enough to tell me you conclave guys need to seriously rein it in." he answered, "Did that Lucas guy _really_ try to kill her?"

"He attempted to execute her magically, yes." Fredrick answered, lowering his head; "she had too much willpower to be so easily killed, however, and the timely arrival of PBD kept him from completing the rash sentencing."

"Well, I'm not going to help them if they just decide to kill someone who's in the way," he said strongly, making his position clear, "He really should of thought of _that_ before he tried to kill Kim."

"Indeed," Sensei said, "A friend is difficult to be made with one who has been struck by oneself."

Fredrick sighed; "Mister Stoppable, are you aware of creatures called '_vulnari_'?"

"No," Ron answered, "Never heard of them."

"They're sort of a spectral summon, of sort. Spellcasters often used them as summons into battle, typically binding them much like a farmer does cattle or sheep. The tome in question, the _Liber Arcessere_, is a text which includes instructions for summoning large groups of them, more than a typical conjurer can in a day. It also includes binding instructions to maintain it and even instructions for other, more powerful beings."

"So basically it's the keystone for an army?" Ron asked, calling the cliché at the gate. "Doesn't sound unusual for Kim to handle, I mean, we take out that stuff on an almost daily basis."

Fredrick shook his head, "You do not understand: this army is no small group of destruction-causing robotic walkers like Lil Diablo was. This is a tome that resulted in a number of wars being fought to contain fallout of failed bindings. Conflicts raged in the ancient days for much longer than they should have because of this tome and copies of the information within. This kind of magic was the bootheel that crushed those without magic-" he was cut off however, by Sensei.

"Things have changed, Fredrick; what was once a young cub is now a fully grown bear, and so has scale." Sensei said in a scolding reminder, "The threat of a vulnari army is still considerable due to their nature, but they are no longer world threatening so long as they are contained early. The weapons of the current age are capable of matching magic, though their use has been tragic."

"If you said that several months ago old friend, I'd of said that you have a point and would have defended it." Fredrick responded with a sad sigh, "But we're going backwards now that the alien invasion has hit. It almost destroyed all of humanity's progress since that ancient age. I fear that it doesn't have the strength to stand on its own unless that prophecy we talked about comes to pass as they think it will."

"Wait a stinking minute," Ron said angrily, "You're talking about that '_Kim needs powers'_ crud, aren't you?"

"I wish it wasn't. But we'd need someone with those powers anyways." Fredrick countered, "The powers granted by this is extremely useful in fighting magical beings such as the vulnari, it would be foolish for her to not seek them if she has the potential to wield it. If she's the heroine she says she is, it would be _immoral_-"

Sensei then raised his hands, his voice coming in strongly as he cut his tirade off, "This tracking through ancient knowledge is currently of no practical use. It does not help us now. Fredrick, we have a considerable period of time until the conflict is said to begin anew, humanity _will_ recover. It has done so before, we have witnessed it with our own eyes and lived it."

"World War Two was different, Sensei," Fredrick answered in an exasperated tone, "It was a mundane conflict in comparison to that storm coming back. You know this."

"And I know that there is nothing we can do at this time. The record of the prophecy we have is currently locked out and we know not it's full contents. We have to wait until the period comes to be able to use it. The return of vulnari is said to be a sign of it. _That_ we can focus on in the present."

"Alright, I'm missing something here," Ron said, shaking his head and holding his hands out, "Why are these vulnari things so important? They sound like magical Lil Diablo bots or something, just different and not as kid-adored."

"The vulnari were contained several thousand years ago by the Conclave's trained paladins who came to be as an answer to the threat," Fredrick explained, "Effectively exterminated as a wild threat, many were unbound and banished so humanity did not have to contend with the magical beasts. They were, in the ancient days, a factor that regularly challenged the mundane and were used as a heavy boot heel against revolt. It was a bloody conflict to end that; it was then the prophecy you recovered was made. The return of the vulnari as a large-scale threat would be a death knell for all the progress that's been made with humanity's current state."

"So we keep the book from being stolen," Ron said with a shrug, "Doesn't sound too unconventional. Just have that Lucas nutcase pick off any of these 'comeback' dudes getting close and anything he misses gets beaten up by Kim and any GJ agents in the area. Approach the museum in a more diplomatic manner. I dunno, maybe get the book for a 'museum' of your own or something silly like that and seal it in your own vaults. Boom, mission accomplished, world saved for the billionth time." He threw his hands in the air to make it clear how straightforward it was, it was practically daily basis for him.

Sensei cracked a smile and chuckled warmly, "He makes the wisest course of action sound the simplest. Indeed he is correct: a burglary attempt to recover the tome was not the wisest course, especially near Middleton where some of the best counters to such reside."

"Look, I wasn't exactly happy about it but the council ordered them to do it, they want to try and avert or delay things as long as possible. A return of the vulnari would cause untold havoc on humanity! Please, Mister Stoppable, can you contact Miss Possible and convince her to let the next strike succeed?"

"No," Ron said with finality, "I'm not going to help the guy who tried to _kill_ her. Try something different, something more diplomatic. If you're really trying to do what's best, theft and murder ain't gonna help that at all."

Fredrick inhaled, sighing, "So be it. I just hope you haven't doomed us all; if that text is stolen by an unfriendly group, or ones trying to bring back-"

Sensei cut him off, "Peace, Fredrick. The non-magical part of humanity is much stronger than it was in the days you speak of. They have come farther than any would have guessed. They have grown without magic and are strong because of it."

XX

**Mount Middleton**

**Middleton, Colorado**

"_This is Watcher,"_ said someone in Kim's earpiece, "_I have your six and my Lovemaker is loaded with blueberry rounds. You won't be able to call me back by voice once you're out of your car, but I can tell you if things are going ugly. I'm almost in position. One tap for an affirmative, two to repeat."_

Kim gave a tap on her wrist Kimmunicator to give an affirmative as she parked, glancing at the _Liber Arcessere_ in the passenger's seat. She sighed sadly. She didn't like it, but she couldn't just leave Tara in the hands of these "Conclave" goons to do who-knows-what to her. She grabbed the tome and got out, holding the tome under her arm as she walked through the woods. She was regularly checking the map on her wrist Kimmunicator to ensure she was going the right way. She walked up the path and looked around, checking the trees. She didn't know if there were any trackers, but she knew that if she was a villain, tradition would dictate having someone around to ambush her, take the tome, and tie her up to some death trap that took too long to work.

She continued to follow the twisting trial for another ten minutes, squirrels scurrying away as she passed. The birds cawed low in the afternoon sun, and a deer glanced up at her from the trees before bounding away. The pine trees were still and silent, like ancient sentinels. Only a few were big enough to act as cover for an ambush, but the many bushes were plentiful for that purpose. She finally made it to the rendezvous point, a small grove. It was surrounded by a set of trees, and the center was cleared; then she remembered that this was a popular camping site in the past, and looked like it was recently cleared for this exchange. Given it wasn't used anymore, that would be easy to do.

"Good, you came with the tome." said a robed man who stepped out from behind one of the trees circling the grove, standing opposite of her. "I apologize for the tactic, but this is far too important to remain passive."

Kim kept the tome close, looking around the soon-to-be battlefield. Several swordsmen came out of the trees and took up positions around her, likely the same ones from the raid. She heard the sniper in her earpiece; "_This is Watcher: I got a sight on the lead tango, but no sign of the hostage yet."_

Kim looked at the robed man as he took the hood off to reveal his face, a thin and fine brown beard and mustache lining his chin and mouth. "You're willing to kidnap an innocent woman just for a stupid book?"

"It's more than that," he answered, sighing and closing his eyes, "It's for the good of humanity. The secrets in that tome cannot be used."

Kim wondered what secrets he was talking about as she was considering fact that the tome would be on public display and the museum had several scanned copies already for historical reference if it was lost. It would be much easier to just hack their systems for the information. "Where's Tara?" she asked assertively, "I'm not handing the book over until she's safe."

The mage nodded, "Zachary, bring out Miss Strong."

One of the swordsmen nodded, heading out of sight. When he came back, he was escorting Tara, who looked to have been cuffed. Kim grimaced as she saw it, worried that they'd done something to her. Tara was led next to the figure.

"Now we trade," the mage said, "Leave the book in the middle, and as you do so, I shall walk Miss Strong to the middle. Once the trade is made, we'll both go our separate ways and will likely not encounter each other again."

"Fine," Kim said darkly, walking to the middle. The mage nodded, and Zachary lead Tara over, released her from the cuffs as they both met at the middle. The mage walked over, and reached for the book.

"_This is Watcher: We can't let him get the tome. Once he's close, tag him with the chip and I'll blam him and his men. Get the tome and Miss Strong out of there; I'll cover you with stun rounds."_

Kim inhaled as he ended it with two clicks on the radio. She was feeling some pain from the irritation left by being blasted with tear gas as the fresh air entered her lungs. She didn't want sniper fire raining down when Tara was close, no matter how good this PBD sniper was and even if the GJA-19 used stun lasers. Tara, now released, moved over behind Kim and whispered, "Kim, what's going on?"

She whispered back out of the corner of her mouth: "They captured you as a hostage for a book. We're not letting them get away with this."

Tara nodded fearfully. Her wrists surprisingly unaffected by the cuffs and seemed to be normal from the glance she had gotten of them. Kim briefly wondered if the cuffs had a magical boost to keep them from hurting too much as the mage walked up to the tome and she snapped her mind into the mindset of a fighter in combat, feeling her limbs seem to almost release control as her instincts began to take over.

"Sir," said the swordsman Zachary, "What's that on your head?"

"What?" the mage asked, glancing around. Kim saw it: A red laser sight.

"Probably just a zit," Kim commented, unable to keep amused sarcasm out of her voice as she waited for it...

XX

Giles was practically shoving his eye into the scope as he aimed, "Little closer," he whispered to himself as he adjusted the scope, "Little to the left... come on you man who-" he cut himself off.

XX

… suddenly amidst the tense silence, there was a loud _bang_ and a brief flash of blue light sped by, hitting the crossbowman and knocking him back and knocked him out as the stun laser, having broken upon his faceplate, got into his face. The bang had utterly shattered the silence and birds cawed as they flapped away, everyone reacting for combat. Kim heard Watcher swear over the radio; "_Damn it, missed!_"

"Treachery!" the mage shouted, "Men, keep them back!" Another energy round sped by, impacting off of his magical barrier which lit up like an all-white Fourth of July as the stun laser hit it. He looked at her and snarled, charging to attack her. Kim was ready however: She grabbed him by the arm, flipping him over the book and slamming him into the ground. The mage snarled as one of the swordsman shouted, "Help Thackeray, I'll get the tome!"

Kim tackled Thackeray, sticking Wade's bug into his hood with what was, hopefully looking like a punch that missed as he moved his head out of the way. She was blasted off with a magical burst at point blank, but Tara was surprisingly quick on the uptake, grabbing the book and running towards where Kim came from, the swordsman going for the book blasted away from her as Giles took another shot. She pushed herself off the stunned mage ran after Tara, leaping ahead as the swordswoman leapt in front of them trying to block their escape. She didn't have her shield out, but Kim didn't need that convenient advantage as she swiftly moved in, spinning her around and grabbing her right arm. With a violent twist of her arm, she caused her opponent to drop the sword as Tara ran past.

Another stun laser sped by, hitting a swordsman in the face as he charged after them and he collapsed like a rag doll bent backwards. Thackeray was up again and shouting orders, magic ready. Kim grabbed a flash bang from her belt and hurled it at him, putting her shades on as she did so. There was a loud explosion of sound that deafened her and left her ears ringing with a high-pitched whine, but the shades minimized the blinding white light. The swordsmen all hit the dirt shouting and dropping their weapons, and the mage's spell was disrupted. He grunted, grabbing some sort of signet-carved rune and squeezed it. Magical energy enveloped around his eyes and ears, to what end Kim only had to guess at. Tara kept running, tripping over a branch as Kim put the shades away while she ran after, helping Tara up. The noise in her ear was becoming unbearable. _That's what I get for not wearing ear protection,_ Kim grimly thought, surprised that Tara wasn't on the ground in pain like the others.

"No more mister nice mage!" Thackeray shouted, and began to chant again. Kim felt it the moment he finished, unable to turn around and help Tara, and felt herself hurled into the mental struggle of life and death again.

XX

Giles swore as he saw the mage preparing his magic, recognizing the kill spell from the security tapes he'd seen. _No more non-lethal,_ he decided, disabling the laser function so he could insert kinetic ammunition. Quickly, he shoved in a cartridge of Armor Piercing rounds; he had four shots of it. He aimed right for the mage's head, knowing that if it worked, Kim was probably going to proverbially kill him over it. And if it didn't work, he'd be the one who failed to keep Kim Possible alive when he was the one supposed to be watching her back. He made his choice, and it was hauntingly easy for him to do so.

He had a solid line of sight. He took the shot. The bullet sped through hitting the mage's barrier, but it hit with so much force that it knocked him back onto his ass.

XX

Logan Thackeray was in mid cast when his barrier failed suddenly, and he fell with several shreds of metal poking into him, stuck in his robes. He didn't know what it was, but his concentration was broken, and it didn't get in to hurt him. He growled, quickly reestablishing his barrier as Kim got away with Tara, leading her out of the trap. Another stun round had sped by, only to be stopped by his newly recast barrier.

"Damn it," he cursed, realizing in an instant that they had some sort of analogue to long-range magic and they using it effectively. He suspected that what just hit him was a kill version, instead of the stun that had knocked out half of his men given the effects. "Everyone together, shields up!"

The remaining swordsmen dragged their comrades into a circle around him as he began to chant, their shields raised protectively, the bursts of knockout energy splashing harmlessly against the shields as their wards fired off to stop them. He chanted, his newly created barrier protecting him from those bursts that got through. White light enveloped him with echoing thuds as each person to be teleported were encircled by rings of light, a larger cone of such coming from above.

And they escaped he felt like a fish out of water briefly as he was squeezed through teleportation, but he landed without issue in his temporary home.

XX

Giles sighed as the super escaped, watching through his scope. He moved his eye from it as he confirmed no one was left and shut the sniper rifle's power off. He pulled the battery out, sticking it next to his three fourths empty AP round cartridge. He kept partially used clips and batteries in one area on his belt pouch. It was a small thing, his partner Hoover had mused, but it was useful as it helped him remember to get them reloaded when he returned to base or so he knew he was loading a partial clip. He broke his sniper rifle down so it'd fit in the case, which he had left out next to him. He sighed, missing Hoover's advice and the help he could provide with carrying extra ammunition, never mind watching his back.

XX

**Fifteen Minutes Later**

**En Route back to Middleton, Colorado**

Back in the Sloth, Kim was driving, Tara in the passenger's seat, and the sniper Giles, who turned out to be a slightly pale man with some wrinkles already and had graying brown hair, was in the back. Kim inhaled. The _Liber Arcessere_ was in the glove compartment again, and Giles' _GJA-19_ 'Lovemaker' sniper rifle was packed up into a case which sitting next to him.

"So," Tara asked, "what _was_ that all about?"

"Another villain with a crazy scheme." Kim answered, "He definitely had an edge with that magic stuff he had."

"You sure it's magic?" Giles asked in disbelief, "It could just be a super with an assortment of powers."

"Check my boyfriend," Kim answered, "I've seen enough to know magic is real. Either that or it's _ridiculously_ advanced science. And I'm from Middleton."

"Touché;" Giles said, "We need to debrief ASAP."

"Already on it;" Kim said, dialing for Wade. The dashboard switched to Wade's screen and he answered with a smile.

"_Nice one, Kim. General Malta's on the line."_

"Thanks Wade." Kim answered as Malta appeared; "Mission accomplished. Got the book and Tara out safely."

"_Good,"_ Malta said, "_Mister Load; you have a trace?"_

"_Triangulating now,"_ Wade said, "_I'll have it shortly… aha! Small enclave; sending over the coordinates. It's in the middle of nowhere. Satellite images make it look like a field tent-comprised encampment. Looks like there may be some sort of defenses given some small stone objects set up, but it shouldn't be difficult to nullify them."_

"Got it Wade. As soon as Tara's back home, I'll head over there and end this."

"_Negative,"_ said another voice; Doctor Director appeared on the screen, which split into three triangles to accommodate, "_We have a team already en route with hovercraft support. We'll suppress the base and capture this unusual group. We'll send in a Specter operative to head the attack."_

"Yes Ma'am," Giles said, "General, where should I report?"

"_Miss Possible, could you drop Corporal Summers off at the Middleton Airport? We have a transport there that's going to take our attack group over to the enclave and support Global Justice's agents."_ Malta asked.

"Sure, but you really should bring me along for this one." Kim said, "I can drop Tara off with her parents then meet you there."

"_It's alright, you've done enough. We want to blast the place with tear gas before we attack, make sure they can't pull their powers out."_ Malta explained, "_Make sure Miss Strong gets back home alright."_

"I'll be fine," Tara said, "It wasn't that bad. They weren't really rude about it, really. Sort of seemed sad it came to it…" she trailed off almost dreamily.

"I'm serious General;" Kim interjected over Tara's statement, "GJ agents tried to handle Shego down in Africa, it didn't end well."

"_It was twelve agents, not a squadron of hovercraft."_ Doctor Director retorted, "_This will be much simpler and clean cut, and we have a Specter Operative leading it this time. They're already en route."_

"_Besides,"_ Malta added, "_You're still suffering from the tear gas this morning. Get some damn sleep, God knows you earned some rest."_

Kim sighed; "Fine." She quickly did some mental calculations before she answered, "I'll drop off Giles at the airport first then bring Tara home. Once that's done I'll bring the book back to the Tri-City museum."

"_Affirmative."_ General Malta said, "_Corporal Summers! How is your ammunition?"_

"Good, sir." He answered, "I only used one AP round, though I do need to get some more power cells. I only took nine shots and I haven't resupplied in a while. I'm a bit over half stock now."

"Wait a second," Kim said slowly as she realized what he just said, almost slamming on the breaks from the shock, "Did you just say an _armor piercing_ round?"

"It was to break his barrier," he explained, "It didn't kill him, but it completely thrashed his barrier and disrupted his kill powers."

Kim inhaled tensely; she owed him her life considering he saved it with that round, but the fact he went straight to a kill capable round made her wonder why she should feel like that.

"_Kim?_" Wade asked in a concerned tone.

"_Miss Possible, if it's anything, I ordered him to switch to kill rounds the moment the super pulled his kill powers out."_ Malta added, "_I understand your aversion to killing, but I have my modus oprendi, you have yours."_

Kim shook her head, "Alright, I understand that, but I still think an armor piercing round was overkill. He was disrupted by a loud explosion. Doesn't GJ have access to experimental flash-bang rounds?"

"_Classified,"_ Doctor Director answered with a faint hint of amusement, "_But they're experimental, as you said. We haven't issued them out to any sniper."_

Kim nodded, "Alright look, I'm not going to argue about what happened, what's done is done, and no one died. Why raise too much of an issue over it then? That doesn't mean I'm happy about it, but it's kind of a moot point by now."

Malta nodded with a smile, "_Indeed. I'll see you at the debriefing, likely. General Malta out."_

"_Doctor Director signing off."_

With that, the two leaders signed off. Kim inhaled, leaning back in the driver's seat as they drove through the quiet lane back to Middleton. She didn't approve of the usage of that armor piercing round, but he saved her life with it. It was, to her, an irritatingly _grey_ quandary as she should have been grateful, but the fact it was done with a deliberate kill shot made her wonder. She didn't begrudge military professionals, after all, they were going into the jaws of hell itself and risking their lives, but they were trained for it.

"_Oh, Tara,_" Wade then said to jolt her out of her thoughts, "_could you swing by my house sometime? I want to do a quick tech scan, make sure they didn't leave anything nasty on you."_

"Um… sure." Tara said awkwardly, "But they didn't…"

"Probably a precaution, miss," Giles said politely.

XX

**July 24th, 2007**

**WWEE Headquarters**

**Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean**

Gemini looked down upon Agent Sigma as he gave his report while stroking his pet Chihuahua, Pepe, with his non-cybernetic hand; "Our shipments of _rima_ are continuing on schedule, and our network through it is growing considerably, sir. We'll have enough of a network to call in enough dependees with powers to crush the _enemy faction_ within the start of the US academic year."

"Good, _good_. This is excellent." Gemini slowly said in his deep baritone, stroking his beard slowly, glad that Agent Sigma, who had survived two weeks with him (a feat indeed) refused to say _Global Justice_. "Now, what about this so-called 'sapper' device?"

"Sir, Agent Tau was assigned to that assignment. Allow me to call him up, sir."

"Fine, fine," Gemini said, deciding not to make him have a seat this time. This agent was on a roll, and why should he shatter such a fine track record for something so small? He could always dispose of the failing Agent Delta if he needed to maintain image as Delta was definitely a defect of Hench's batch of henchmen.

Agent Tau, a skinny and short man who was more an engineer than a fighter walked up the steps quickly and saluted. "Sir! Agent Tau reporting. The enemy has continued their search for the device known as the 'sapper', but we have determined that lesser copies are already being distributed by HenchCo. We have yet to acquire a sample due to HenchCo not sharing client records and they are currently out of stock. However, at the incoming "Henchlypmics", there will be a full load of the devices available to acquire, both purchase and as prizes."

"Good, good, good," Gemini said with a smile, "Now, what does it do?"

"The sapper, sir, is a device that will drain, or, as the enemy scientists say, 'sap' a superpowered individual of their powers for a short time. They were unable to get it past the prototype stage as the mad scientist known as Professor Dementor had stolen it in a recent raid on a French Global Justice base…"

_Barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark, bark bark, yip!_ Pepe began to yelp incessantly. Gemini switched to a baby talk voice, "It's OK Pepe, it's OK… Agent Tau is about to _have a seat_." He switched to his menacing baritone at the last three words as Pepe stopped yelping. Agent Tau gulped as Gemini hit the button. He looked up with what had to be pleading eyes behind his goggles staring at him. He then declared, "You have failed me for the last time, Agent Tau. You should have shown more respect to the dog."

"But sir, I only started this morning!" he complained in a higher pitched voice filled with fear.

"_Silence!"_ Gemini declared, and hit the button, sending the hapless henchman down a hole, which lead to a high speed slide. He brought up the camera on the view screen, which showed ex-agent Tau landing in an airlock like compartment. The back end to the slide sealed, and the front end opened, letting the ocean in. Powerful pumps pushed Agent Tau out into the shark and electrical jellyfish infested waters. Gemini shut the monitor off, and looked to Agent Sigma, who looked like he had just shat bricks. And based on the smell and a new lump in his pants, he _did_.

"Now, I want a full list of agents who will be suitable to enter these Henchlympics that Jack Hench hosts, he always offers up his toys as prizes. When will they begin?"

"On the twenty-sixth, sir," Agent Sigma said, terror in his voice. "I will have a list ready for you by the end of the day, sir."

"Good, good. I want this sapper for our own use, it is a weapon that can put an end to _the enemy_, and my;** little**; _**sister**_!"

XX

**HenchCo Headquarters**

**Northshore, Washington (state)**

Jack Hench smiled as he listened to the report, looking out as the construction continued in the central area of his main facility. "Good, good. Everything's on schedule and considering times, that's _very_ good. So gentlemen," he said, looking at his assistant, Erik de Minion, the short and wide but skilled aide, who was now flanked by two of the standard henchmen, "How are we on prizes for the contest winners?"

"We have a new batch of sappers coming; they're flying off our stocks faster than we can get them." de Minion said, handing over a folder, "And our hench-enhancements are always popular."

"Yes, yes indeed, but we need something _big_." Jack said, "These are the times where villains will want the big boy toys! We need to get something to get them to come and put in capital to our ventures, so we can ensure our financial security as things continue to crash. What about _Project Chronos_?"

"That's a negative, sir."

"The warp issue?"

"The warp issue." He said with a sigh, "We know it should work, but we don't know why it isn't."

"Ah, temporal manipulation is probably not safe anyways." Hench said, "Even if all it does is shred them from time molecule by molecule yet leaves previous accomplishments intact… speaking of which, did anyone see my watch?"

Two of the henchmen shook their heads rapidly. Jack sighed; first his stapler, now his watch… next thing he knew, someone would steal his underwear. And that would be flat out embarrassing.

"We do have _Project Overlord_, however."

"Ah yes, the mass neural compliance ray and back up obedience collars it comes with." He said as he pulled the folder out of the stack; "What issues do we have?"

"It's temporary; without someone who has a neural compliance chip on hand for every affected person, such is a temporary scheme and won't last forever unless you think the obedience collars is enough to maintain discipline. Also, there's still an issue with _Silicon Phase Disruptors_."

"Those aren't going to be too difficult to worry for a good villain;" He paused, a nagging thought worrying him, so he asked: "We _**do**_ have our SPD fields up and running, right?"

"Yes, we do. There's also a power requirement for _Overlord_, and the recharge between uses that lasts longer than the mind control itself."

"That's negligible, let's push a prototype of it as the prize for the villain whose henchmen win the most victories in the Henchlympics by a sufficient mass as a grand prize. If not and they have to settle for first, oh, what would a good first prize be?... ah, yes, the Pyrovator, perfect, good old fashioned incendiary deathtrap for a hero, complete with a conveyor belt to drag them to their doom in a drama-worthy slow time."

"That should work; it's not a new design, but it's definitely one Senior Senior Senior's birthday list."

"You mean he doesn't have one already?" Hench smirked, "Well, maybe we can interest him with it. Shame we can't get a hero to use as a demonstration, but then we'd have GJ on us in force, wouldn't we?"

"Unfortunately." de Minion agreed.

"That's the one downside of dealing with villains," Hench said with a sigh, "You bring in their enemies for a little demo, you get every single vigilante and their grandmothers on you," he smiled however when he considered his recent 'change of heart', "Of course, given how things are going, I have a feeling I can finally break away and actually back up my statements of 'reliable' tech without having GJ infiltrators on my ass."

"That'd be a fine day, sir. I have the list of GJ infiltrators if you want them."

"Yes, good, I'd like to purge them from our ranks the moment we don't need to do some kissing up. Honestly," he leaned back in his chair as he shook his head, "they wanted me to play arms dealer so no one they couldn't reach did so, they got what they wanted. Not my fault they can't handle the heat they unleashed."

**XX**

**XX**

**End Chapter**

*** The Conclave is pretty much an organization I drew up as an explanation as to **_**why**_** so little magic appears in the series with almost all of it being related to MMP. Their interventions would basically translate into "hide magic related to your own order/sect/grouping by whatever means necessary". Tried to convey it in the story, but I wasn't sure if I did that very well. As you can probably surmise by Sensei's verbal facepalming, Yamanouchi doesn't like the aggressive style and prefer to just take it on in a nicer way or ask Kim and Ron for help since they take out villains doing that kind of crap on a daily basis.**

*** Kim using flash-bangs; well hey, they work and they're non lethal, and was a nice chance to remind people that people firing off explosives need to wear ear protection. The shades she used are indeed the same ones she used against the Mathter's **_**Flash Cards**_** in the events of "**_**The Mathter and Fervant**_**".**

*** The break-in was indeed inspired by the scene from **_**A Sitch in Time**_**, but the circumstances are changed considerably. Besides, I really wanted to have Kim fight some 'magic' users, and figured that was the best way to tie it in and open another plot at the same time.**

*** As I've said before; how do you fight magic? Well, obviously there's limits. For kill magic, it just becomes a struggle of wills. Kim may have a weakness when it comes to boys and turns practically clueless, but once she's set her sights on you she's basically got an iron will that even good old grim dark knights templar of puritan stock would balk at the sight of. If I had Kim after me and she was pissed like in **_**Seeing Red**_** (the pic by Lionheart), I'd just shoot myself and save Kim the trouble.**

*** I'd like to thank PKiller from **_**Spacebattles **_**(dot)**_**net**_** for his help at proofreading my style; it helped a lot, and never would of noticed a major screw up with grammar and cluttering if you didn't point it out. I'd also like to thank AmericanGecko for doing beta-reading as well.**

*** The Conclave insignia is actually visible on DeviantArt (yes, I have an account); label "Conclave War Insignia-Final". It was actually a draft of a potential insignia, but I adopted it as a combat symbol used, much like how the US prints the US flag on the shoulders of uniforms. Figured it'd be nice to show the rough of what it was (but I was using paint, so don't expect quality!)**

*** To answer the reviewer Hayaba, the reason I won't personally make a TVTropes page for any of my work is because I feel that it's impolite to add your own work to TVTropes. It's something I feel others should do as doing it for your own work feels like, I dunno, trying to say "hey, look at me, I used a trope!" If it gets onto TVTropes, it should be because it's actually a good example of a trope, not because I think it is.**

**-=Document Recovery: Ads for the "VillianTech" line of HenchCo Products=-**

_Source: Villain's Digest Magazine_

_"__**The Pyrovator**__": Good guys just won't stay down? That deathtrap full of spikes just not working out for you? Then you need the Pyrovator! This pyrokinetic death trap was designed to perfectly deal with those pesky hero types with large amounts of incendiary pyrotechnics that George Lucas could only dream of for his movies! Comes complete with a fire-proof conveyor belt to pull the poor heroes to their hellish doom. Get yours today and hold a heroic barbeque!_

"_**Mass Neural Compliance Ray**__": Those geeks not respecting you? The kids who teased you in school still laughing at you? Then you need this bad boy (or girl); take over their minds en masse and conquer! Keep those pesky potential rebels from even making la resistance! Dominate the other guys with mass mind control today!_

_"__**Mark VI 'Lasher' Laser Turrets**__": Need security for your lairs? Everyone and their grandmother getting on your lawn? Then try out these new HenchCo laser weapons at a fine, horrifically fair price! Using new power cores and improved laser sights (just to confuse the heroes), these bad boys will tear those annoying kids like Possible a new one and leave them scorched forever. Order today, and with every five, you get a free add-on miniaturized perdition flamethrower for one lucky turret! (Note, batteries not included!)_

_"__**Perdition Flamethrower**__": Who doesn't love flamethrowers? Who doesn't love the torrent of draconic fire and the smell of napalm in the morning? If you're a fire lover, then these bad boys are for you. Coming in almost every size and shape, these flamethrowers are perfect for torching those annoying heroes and punishing that bad, non-HenchCo sponsored evil minion for incompetence. Note: HenchCo not responsible for perdition based injuries, third-degree burns are always a hazard._

_"__**Glacial Ice-thrower**__": You don't like the smell of napalm in the morning, huh? Well, don't worry, we got something for you too. HenchCo always provides for all! Using advanced cryogenic cooling systems, these student-desk sized turrets will freeze any pesky hero in his or her tracks! Get that annoying sidekick mounted on your wall like Han Solo and enjoy the new decorations today! Send chills down the spines of your opponents. Literally! All for the usual evil prices that the evil villain pays for HenchCo's reliable and fine weapons for the aspiring bad guy!_

**-=Document Ends=-**


	10. Chapter 10: Fire isn't Friendly

_"One thing I never understood was why Power Busters Division or even Global Justice to a degree tolerated the hiring of mad scientists to do research for them. I mean, had _anyone_ considered the potential backfiring of that? It's like those Marvel 'Civil War' comics the Tweebs read in their rooms about guys trying to enforce some new supers law use villains to do their dirty work; villains they could hardly control. It backfired from what I overheard. Least Doctor Director kept strong watch on any that GJ had to hire, though some PBD officers were a bit lax in their security or had their priorities skewed. I didn't make many friends in one of those backfirings. Heck, I almost got a slot in Cell Block D if sane heads didn't prevail. Funnily enough, PBD didn't hire any of the more sane mad scientists out there, but were quick to get the villainous ones."_

- Kim reflecting on PBD hiring/recruiting some mad scientists (including villains Kim had foiled) as researchers to develop new technology to counter villains and the interesting (lack of) control on them, as recorded in her _Liber Memoriarum_

_"Sorry Doctor Director; I know you want to use copies of the battle suit for GJ's top agents to use, but I'm still working out the kinks. Kim can survive the battle suit going haywire, I'm not sure a GJ agent can. I can work on taking some of the gadgets from it and making alternate versions, but it'll be watered down considerably without the suit's nanite back up systems that's built through it. [...] You want me to work on armor? Heh, yeah, I can do that. […] Light armor that doesn't encumber? No problem, but it'll take a while, especially if we want it to take hits. […] Got it, Doctor Director, I'll call you when I have something to report on that."_

- Wade Load to Doctor Director of Global Justice as he's being commissioned to design a new armor composite for GJ agents to use to protect them without encumbering them as much as the Kevlar armor in use currently does

**Chapter 10: Fire isn't Friendly**

**July 24th, 2007**

Kim glanced around the environment; it consisted of three dimensional cubes with some sides filled in. Most were of a blueish grey color, especially the outlines, which had a dull glow, but she could make out some dark red and navy blue colored blocks as well. She could also see her objective a good distance away, high above her across the black, space like environment. Fortunately, the cubes did not prevent light from passing through, giving her good visibility. She put her hand on her grappling hook; the only gadget she suspected she'd need for this, but Wade had insisted she take her shock stick in there as well.

Ahead there was a large gap with red lasers hanging in a tight net below it. She ran forward, springing across the gap and landing on the blocks at the other side. She didn't both with left to right at this point as her path was ahead, even if she had room to move. She heard distinct zapping noises as she entered a building-like collection of the cubes, which had sturdy poles sticking out across from one wall to the next. However, blue laser beams regularly cut through between the bars. Kim waited several seconds, watching the lasers cycle, then moved forward, leaping up and grabbing the first bar, swinging forward and twisting so she faced the other way, and as she swung up, she pulled herself higher and released, soaring towards the next bar. She repeated until she'd gotten past three of them, then held on tight, stopping her swings as a net of blue lasers began to cut down between the bars. She held on tightly, inhaling and exhaling as she began to slip, but she simply regripped and waited for the lasers to pass. As they did, she started swinging again, building momentum before she launched herself forward again, gaining height every time she moved up a bar.

Two more laser nets had cycled through by the time she was at the last bar, swinging up and grabbing it, pulling herself up and out of the way as red lasers began to come up from below. She glanced forward and saw a platform waiting with green outlines instead of the usual blueish grey. She leapt onto it and looked ahead: it was taking her through an array of lasers, blue and red. _All he needs are white lasers and it'd be a star spangled mess,_ Kim thought with amusement as she put herself in a prone position to avoid the first net of blue lasers, three above her and one below. Once the lasers passed, she looked at the next net: a pair of red lasers above, but she wouldn't be able to stay prone because of how they were spaced.

She pushed herself backwards, her legs hanging off the platform until she pushed herself back over and gripped the side of the platform, letting the lasers pass over her as the platform pulled her towards them. She pulled herself up as the last net came towards her, red below and above in a net about as tall as her above, and one below that'd cut her grappling hook and herself if she tried to go below. She braced herself, waiting as the lasers got close enough. Then she leapt into the air, somersaulting over the lasers and landing on the platform as they passed her. She did not land smoothly however, and was teetering over the edge as she landing. She leaned backwards, avoiding the fall forward and took a step back with the lasers past. She exhaled in relief, then looked up as there was no where further to go at this point other than a further abyss.

The platform came to a lurching stop that caused her to stagger, then it began to move up. Kim smiled as she knew what it was and was able to make out the next floor of the course. The platform pulled her up to it, taking her through rings of outlined cubes with no solid faces, and the platform fit like a glove into the opening above and locked in, changing color from a green outline with a black surface to the same greyish blue as most other blocks. She looked left and right as ahead and behind her was just empty space, but to her left there was a large wall, and to her right was a path made of larger blocks, some of different color.

Kim began walking forward across the path and leapt over one of the rows of navy blue tiled blocks, quite well aware at this point what they were set to do. She heard zaps and a humming sound. Glancing behind, she saw a thick net of red lasers plus two redundant nets were closing on her, telling her that she had to hurry and outrun them. She picked up the pace, moving at a fast jog, leaping over gaps, sometimes just jumping, but some larger spaces called for her to use her grappling hook, targeting a conveniently placed ceiling of blocks in the air and swinging across. She swung over blue laser nets more often than not.

As she crossed the fourth of those laser net covered pits Kim shook her head and said aloud, "Might as well make them red lasers, I'd just fall forever otherwise." She didn't get an answer, but she wasn't expecting one. She continued, running forward as the laser nets chasing her began to close, vaulting over the trapped blocks that were thrown in to keep her on edge. However, she slipped as she landed, and fell forward despite her best attempts and landed on one of the navy colored blocks. A blue laser shot out of the block, zapping through the space between her lower rib cages and knocking her up and backwards. It hurt, but it was only a stun laser. She pushed herself back up as the red net started to come too close for her comfort and sprinted ahead, leaping over the trapped blocks as she did not want to be hit again. Her vision was clouding already as the shock registered in her mind, realizing she just had an energy beam blasted vertically up her body.

She reached the end of the course and looked around; there was a large red bar below her, and she smiled. Leaping up and using her grappling hook to pull herself above it, she inhaled and then jumped down feet first onto it, breaking through and speeding down. Below it was a green-outlined platform, which began to move up as she landed. It carried her up, blocks moving out of the way as it pulled her over the laser nets, and into the unknown above...

-X-

Suddenly, the entire world dematerialized, becoming static, then Kim found herself standing in a square room with a green-blue hue to it, all solid filled cubes. Her feet were locked in manacles on the floor, solid and entirely encased, and her arms were held at her side by similar, though while typical of a dungeon or villain's trap, they were _cushioned_, of all things. A straight beam of metal was raised behind her, which she was leaning on somewhat, as it kept her back straight. The last thing was a T-shaped visor that kept her from seeing out, and the visor was connected to a set of headphones that covered her ears, leaving her in perfect darkness and perfect silence.

The cuffs released her sweaty hands, and Kim pulled the helmet off, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the sudden light, and glanced behind her; Wade walked out and nodded, "Sorry Kim; had to cut it early." he explained, walking up and pressing a button, the manacles covering her feet and keeping her pinned releasing with a hiss, and she stepped out of them, rolling her neck and stretching her arms; even though she was using complicated maneuvers in the simulator, it was only that: a simulator, she wasn't actually using them, and they tensed over time.

"No problem Wade; not like I was going for best time. So what's the sitch?"

"HenchCo has something big brewing."

"Define big." Kim asked with amusement as they entered Wade's room, Wade walking over to his usual seat and accessing his computer which was showing something about a_ Mass Neural Compliance Ray_, with the tagline under it reading "_Dominate the other guys with mass mind control!_", a slogan that sent a chill through Kim's spine as she recalled Bortle's neural compliance chips and the _experiences_ of it. "Yeah, alright, it's big. Let me guess, steal it?"

"Nah," Wade said, "No dice; Hench is going to have an army of henchmen there, plus every villain and their great grandmothers. You'd need an army to get in."

"I've done that kind of stunt before," Kim pointed out, "Pretty easily too."

"Nah, the problem is that it's the main prize for something called the _Henchlympics_, which is probably mass henchmen games like the Olympics are for sports. Got a feeling we need a team to field ourselves. I was contacted by Doctor Director, who has GJ agents to fill in where you can't."

Kim frowned, "So we're basically faking a whole villainous ID?"

"Nah, that's plan B." Wade explained, "You're going to go in and suit up as one of Hench's goons; he's getting so many that he can't track them individually and a lot of them are competing, again, too many for him to track. That means we can get you into one of the several teams. All you need to do is slip in and steal a uniform that fits. GJ already has agents who can fit in as HenchCo henchmen; it's just you that'll need to steal a set of duds to fit in."

"Why can't they provide me a set?" Kim asked with a frown, "Not that I wouldn't mind a little infiltration."

"They don't have one; the sets they have are older designs." When Kim didn't comment, he continued, "That means they don't have tracking devices in it. When Hench started to get a lot of recruits, he slipped tracking into the suits so he could check for runaways or any GJ agents slipping in. These agents were prepared beforehand for previous infiltrations."

Kim nodded, "Alright, makes sense." And then it hit her: "Uh, Wade, if Hench can track me while I'm in disguise, won't that make anything I do well," she left it in the air as she tried to find the right word, "not so fitting?"

"That's why I figured out how to disable it. We have to add some to the GJ agents when they do their part, since Hench would notice if we didn't, but when the time comes to make the getaway, I can disable them."

She frowned as she considered another problem, "What if we have to go silent during the event and something happens, like say, Hench wanting to talk to me personally for a fine performance? I mean, I'm guessing they want me to be smoking the competitions easily to keep it down, Hench is going to notice."

Wade smiled, "I inserted a computer virus last month that played havoc with his systems, leaving the tracking frizzy at times; Hench is still trying to fix it."

Kim looked at Wade dumbly for a second, wondering when he'd get a better hobby. Then she considered the fact that hers was saving the world, and shut her somewhat dropped jaw. "Alright. The only other problem I see is I'm not much of an actor, but it's not hard to be chillin' like a villain. What're we looking at on these Henchlympics?"

"Not sure. I need to do some digging, but they're on the twenty sixth. That means we have a day or so to get ready before I need to ship you in there since teams have to stay overnight."

Kim nodded, "Fair enough. Think you can create a cover story by then?"

"I'll do it in my sleep." Wade said with a smile, then glanced to his door, "Hey, look, I know you want to finish the sim, but I need to do some work now. Think you could come back later today with the battle suit? I need to do some tests on it again, make sure it'll stay solid if you go after Dementor or Gill."

"Sure thing, Wade," she answered, "Let me know if you hear anything from Ron, alright?"

"Of course." Wade said, and with that, Kim left with a nod.

XX

**Global Justice Headquarters**

**Somewhere underground in the Tri-City Area**

Doctor Director watched as Agent Mallard interrogated the 'mage' named Thackeray, but it was no avail. They had already gone over the security tapes and had confirmed that these men were similar to those encountered by Will Du and Atton Williams last month. She wondered who these people were; they used archaic 'technology', yet seemed to have reliable access to powers and gear that could simulate effects even modern day advanced technology was still developing. What worried her most was the fact that they seemed to be of nearly no trace of anything further, and they weren't confident the texts they had would yield anything.

There was good news however; thanks to the swift attack on this Thackeray's base camp, they had recovered a few texts from the base camp and were now analyzing them. The texts made mention of a "Conclave" that had been concealing magic; a most intriguing thing, as they knew magic was around for a while at this point, especially when they reopened research into "_The Ron Factor_" to learn about Ron's powers that he exhibited at the alien attack. GJ scientists hoped to use it as a springboard for further understanding of superpowers in general. Unfortunately, such research was on hold due to Ron's current MIA status with only an assurance from Kim that he was alright and would not be available.

She sighed as she looked to one of GJ's scientists, "Status report on the texts?"

"Still translating ma'am, it will take a while. It uses an odd dialect of the language Latin, but seems to contain words we don't recognize. There is mention of a group of creatures called 'vulnari', however." the scientist answered still looking at his screen.

"Related to that text he attempted to steal?"

"Correct ma'am."

"Understood; keep me informed on the texts' translation. The more we understand of this 'magic', the better. We must be ready for whatever this magical WWEE analog this 'Conclave' is."

"Yes ma'am. We've also learned of a group called the 'Chronomancers' in passive mention in one of the texts. It includes a location list, mostly obscured, but one fragment of coordinates links to the temple in Central Africa that Agent Jones' team is investigating."

"Good. What's her status report?"

"They've set up their base camp and have begun their archeological examinations. They'll have more details soon."

"Good. What about the Henchlympics infiltration?"

"Kim Possible has been contacted and Agent Duquette and his team are on stand-by for infiltration."

"Excellent! Keep me informed of any developments." She glanced at the clock, and nodded. She had a meeting to attend to with a number of officers to brief them on their investigative missions against WWEE operations in Europe. They had to stop WWEE from continuing to ferment lawlessness and chaos around the globe, especially in these trying times.

XX

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron glanced around as he walked through the snow in the mountains; Sensei had instructed him to gather several vials of the water from the volcanic hot springs for some reason. Ron wasn't sure why, but since they had healing properties, he assumed it was for some healing tonic or equally fantastic purpose. The trees were standing forebodingly as he walked through, Rufus in his pocket as he didn't wear the usual robes issued out to the students, but instead chose to wear his mission gear for this one; just to keep comfy in them. _Besides,_ he had thought when he made the decision, _I've been in robes day in day out too often; gotta change my pace._ He was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard a rustle in the trees and tensed his fists, alert. He looked around in the trees, making out a shadow. He stood there, waiting patiently...

Suddenly, he heard a slight whoosh as a projectile struck and exploded on his chest, blowing him ten meters backwards and causing him to land on his back. "OW!" he shouted as he landed, grunting as he pushed himself up. Two men clad in light armor came out of cover. One was carrying a Japanese-style spear while the other had a number of disc-like projectiles of a yellow color with an oddly familiar sigil on them. They glanced at each other and one of them commented something in Japanese. Ron couldn't understand it, but it sounded roughly like they were surprised he was pushing himself up.

"Really guys?" Ron asked, thinking they were students from Yamanouchi practicing, "Can't you practice gank someone else?"

The two looked at each other when Ron realized they _weren't_ from Yamanouchi. The one with the spear charged as they seemed to come to the conclusion he'd be a fight. Ron grimaced, and charged as well, dodging another of the discus-shaped projectiles as he closed in. He stepped to the side as the man stabbed at him with the spear, then grabbed it, tugging. The man was pulled forward, grunting. Ron ducked as a third discus sped over him, giving the spearman a chance to recover, turning and starting to force Ron back with rapid jabs. Ron growled, leaping to the side, only for another discus to miss him by mere inches.

_Wait a second; ward!_ Ron thought, focusing a moment, and felt a faint drain as the ward was activated. Ron punched at the spearman, hitting the spear's shaft, which stopped the blow, but a hurled discus exploded off of his barrier which stopped the kinetic impact, but Ron grunted as it drained him for stopping the hit. He continued his attack on the spearman, aiming low with a leg sweep and knocking the spearman to the floor. Ron leapt onto him and started hitting him in the face. The spearman's shoulders shot up from the hit, and seemed to be down. Ron glanced up at the other man, who pulled another discus from his backpack.

"Disc Thrower failure," Ron commented, knowing the guy wouldn't get the reference. He ran at him, dodging another discus that exploded under him as Ron leapt over. Before Ron got close enough to hit him, however, a second discus exploded onto his ward, causing him to stagger, but the ward took the hit. Ron closed his eyes from the drain on him, feeling it begin to take a toll as it not only absorbed the impact of the discus but also the nonlethal yield explosion. He recovered and charged, tackling the disc thrower and pinning him to the ground. They struggled and began to roll on the ground as they tried to hit each other, blocking punches and tangling legs as they rolled.

Ron grunted as he was pinned by the larger man and the additional weight afforded by the loaded backpack, looking up at him. Since he was wearing a full face-concealing ninja mask, only his brown eyes were visible. Ron felt something slipping out of his pocket as the two struggled, the man bringing his arms down to try and choke Ron as he fought to keep the arms away from his vulnerable neck.

A loud chomping sound was heard and the man's eyes widened and irises shrunk before he howled loudly in pain and leapt forward over Ron, holding his groin. Glancing ahead, Ron saw Rufus sitting there with a satisfied smirk. Ron chuckled, "Nice one buddy." He pushed himself up and Rufus hopped back into his pocket; the two bandits were on the floor, one too dazed to get up, the other tending his wounded 'dignity', whimpering _pathetically_ in pain as he crawled under a tree. Ron glanced around, wondering if he should do anything.

"Nah," he decided, "Can't do anything anyways..." and with that, he continued along the path to the mountains.

XX

**Secondary Dementor Lair**

**Bavarian Alps**

It was night when Shego ignited her plasma as one of Dementor's heavily armored henchmen charged her, and hurled a bolt into his face, knocking him back, but his helmet withstood the impact. Drakken followed up by using his plant powers to trip him before using his powers to bind his legs, unprotected by the man's _Balmung_ battle armor. Shego then walked up and hit him a few times to make sure he stayed down. "Let's go," Drakken said, running to the lair's gate and pulling the control panel off and rewiring the gate lock mechanism easily. Shego looked around, alert for any other defenses Dementor might of had up. Nothing popped out of anywhere from the castle walls or the courtyard around them. Drakken laughed as the gate opened, enjoying the successful hacking as they rushed in and quickly crossed the courtyard, opening the door into the actual lair itself.

To their surprise, the atrium leading into the main hall was empty, as if Dementor had long since abandoned it. Shego frowned as they walked through the main hall; "This doesn't look good... nothing here."

"Ugh, don't tell me Dementor got up and moved on us!" Drakken growled in irritation, "That always vexes me..."

Shego held her hand up, stopping Drakken and closing her eyes as she heard it again. This time Drakken heard it too: _snoring_.

Then she glanced outside before she turned to him, whispering, "Quiet; I think most of the lair is asleep."

Drakken smiled, nodding, and they crept up the stairs, looking for Dementor's main lab, where, hopefully, information on what Dementor had in mind for his take-over-the-world scheme would be found. He pulled a door open, just a bathroom. He shut it, then moved onto the next one... a bowling ball rolled out, and landed on Drakken's foot. He felt his veins tense as he struggled to keep a scream from echoing out as the bowling ball rolled away and down the hall, rolling down the stairs with dull _thunk_s each time it hit. But no alarm went off.

"That was close," Drakken whispered in pain, gritting his teeth, "Come on…"

"Let me open the next one, doc," Shego said with a glance as she opened the next door; inside was one of Dementor's typical base power generators, and he smiled, looking around for alarm systems; nothing. They entered silently and Drakken moved to the computer, powering it up and overriding the security on it. He snickered quietly as he began downloading the information onto his flash drive, watching a disorder-worthy obsessive amount of information on Kim's battle suit, various notes on HenchCo products, blueprints for unnecessarily evil doomsday devices of all scales from miniaturized Tesla based technology to seismic tectonic disintegrators, and his grocery list.

There was a ding as the download completed, and he smiled, "Got it, let's go!" He ejected the flash drive and pocketed it, following Shego out the door…

"_Oi!_" shouted someone, and the two skidded to a halt, looking behind them; one of Dementor's grenadiers had spotted them, and pulled the alarm system. Loud klaxons and sirens began to sound, utterly destroying the silent night's peace. Henchmen poured out of the two barracks, some of them carrying shock staves. Drakken sighed, "Oh come on, you think you can _really_ take on the guy who," he shivered, "saved the world from aliens?"

"Get them!" shouted one of the henchmen, and they all began to charge. Shego moved forward, cutting a swathe through the right henchmen while Drakken let his vines have their fun, shooting them through and around the floor, grappling the henchmen with them. As they struggled entangled and unable to move, Shego knocked the defenseless henchmen out with horrific pace. Just the way Drakken liked it.

Something exploded in front of Drakken, severing the vines he had out from him and blowing him back into the door. He slid off of it and landed on his bum, rubbing his head as he glanced up, the pedals yet again popping out. He sighed as he watched the grenadier hurl another of his grenades, but this time Drakken was ready…

… but he didn't have a chance to react as Shego simply shot it with a bolt of her plasma before hurling two more into Dementor's henchman, causing him to be blown back down the hall. Drakken smirked, looking at a security camera and giving a mock salute just to tease Dementor, then pushed the door open, running out with Shego behind him as auto turrets began to pop out of their concealed locations on the walls and opened fire down on them with horrid accuracy, dust kicking up as the blasters hit the ground near them but not hitting them. The overridden gate was trying to shut, but it stayed open until they were both through, at which point it slammed shut as pursuing henchmen slammed into it. They hurried into the nearby hills where Drakken had parked the car, and they hopped in.

In the air above as they flew away, Drakken chuckled, "Now we can see what Dementor is up to!" He plugged it into the hover car's computer as Shego drove, and he looked at it, reading some of the things out loud, "Hah, look at this! Half of this is about Possible's battle suit! I knew he was obsessed, the technophile."

"I don't think technophilia covers that level of obsession," Shego dryly commented, "I think he just wants to get into her pants."

Drakken chuckled despite being unaware that he missed the double meaning, "Indeed, he really should realize that with his short, stubby legs and dwarf like body he wouldn't fit into a skintight cat suit for a slim and agile cheerleader. I can get why he'd want to study the tech, but wear it? How can that be comfortable?"

Shego just shook her head as Drakken droned on. He was amazed at the level of detail Dementor had: it was almost enough data to build _his own_ battle suit. All he needed was component notes and then he could duplicate it!

"Shego, I think we have our next scheme; getting our hands on Kim Possible's battle suit!" Drakken declared at last, "We'll show Dementor, we'll duplicate it first…"

"What? Oh come on, don't give those sites any more help than they need." Shego commented sarcastically.

"They don't need our help." He dismissively stated, "Besides, the suit's tech is way too advanced to pass up."

"Alright, but I'm putting this in the 'going to fail' category right now."

"Whaaaat? Really? Why?"

"Professional hit men failed to take Kim out," Shego explained with a sigh, "They had _sniper rifles_ and all the usual long range coward stuff. I don't think we're going to be able to walk in and take the suit."

"Touché" Drakken commented, "But maybe hit her computer kid's place? What's his name? Wide Load?"

Shego shrugged, "Yeah, maybe. Not sure if he kept the blueprints for the suit though. For all we know, they may of been destroyed when he realized just how powerful that thing was."

Drakken sighed, "Always putting me down. _And_ my plans."

"Only because this one's asking for trouble."

XX

**12:22 PM**

**Possible Residence**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim was in her room reading when Wade called.

_Beep beep be-beep._

She hit the button and answered, "What's the sitch, Wade?"

"_Not sure,"_ Wade answered, "_We got a hit on the site from BioTech Unlimited, from one of their auditors. Apparently a shipment of advanced bio-chemicals was supposed to be delivered to their Lowerton branch today, but they never made it."_

"Any police reports? GJ reports? Random ransom demands? Black market deals going up?"

"_No, nothing. They just vanished off the map. There is a rumor going around Lowerton about a monster being sighted though. A hybrid of sorts, like a rhinoceros crossed with a rabbit or hare…"_

"DNAmy…" Kim muttered, "That's probably what happened. Wait, didn't GJ pick her up back in May after she tried to make off with the Genomic Sequencer again?"

"_Yeah they did, but apparently she evaded PBD's prison guards in Cell Block D. No clue how and absolutely no records of it. Kim, this isn't going to be easy."_

"When is anything valuable easy?" she asked, amazed that PBD _still_ hadn't solidified the security systems against superpowered villains, "You have any tech scans going for the missing tech?"

"_Yup; found a hidden lab at Mount Middleton. Uh, Kim, I just did a deeper scan, I'm detecting some pretty high energy signatures from the base."_

"Standard evil lair equipment?"

"_Probably. Still, be careful. And bring your snow gear, that high up in the mountain is always cold, and some of the output of the lab may cause issues."_

"No problem. Let GJ know I'm investigating this, they weren't happy about DNAmy making off with the genomic sequencer. I think they'd like her back behind bars."

"_Already on it. Sending rough coordinates to the Sloth's GPS system."_

"Got it Wade. Think this is a battle suit mission?"

"_If you think so and wanna risk the BSR again, just stop by and pick…"_ something beeped on Wade's computer,_ "wait, cancel that, I'm detecting high energy scans, you bring something like that you'll trip alarms ten ways from. This is a low tech mission, I think."_

Kim nodded, "Got it, on my way." She hung up, and grabbed her mission gear, suiting up, then grabbed her purple snow gear; it wasn't actually the same gear she used when she busted Drakken's latest alpine lair just before graduation, but rather a replacement for it as it was destroyed. It was still the same style, however. She didn't put it on yet, though; she could slip it on when she got there.

XX

**45 Minutes Later**

**1:09 PM**

**Mount Middleton Ski Resort**

Kim knocked on the desk, waking up the desk jockey named Jacob (based on the nametag), "Hey, looking for any recent sightings here?"

"Huh? Oh," Jacob said, blinking, "Yeah; boss wondered when you'd come by. Right this way."

He led her into a back office and she entered. She didn't have her snow gear on just yet as she was going to wait before putting it on. The office's occupant was sitting as his desk, frowning at a series of photos, some recent and some old. He looked up, "Ah, I had a hunch you'd be coming by soon. Exploring the paranormal yet again, hmmm?"

Kim shrugged, "Actually not here to look into that, but I got a theory on what's behind it."

"Ah, let me hear it, please."

"Certainly, Mister Slope." Kim said as she was gestured to sit down. "Wade was doing some scans and thinks it's DNAmy; you remember her, correct?"

"Yes, the woman who created the snow beast four years back, I recall. Hmmm. The mountain, as you probably know, is usually not too snowy, but up in the farther reaches it's unpredictable. Recently, it's had a lot of cold weather… too cold to be normal, and there are reports of mysterious shipments and people coming from hikers who head up there."

"What kind of shipments?"

"Guarded ones, guarded by professional looking soldiers clad in blue armor and carrying advanced weapons."

Kim blinked, "No way…" she said, thinking she just realized there were potentially _rogue_ GJ agents out here. She quickly covered it up however by saying in a calm, breezy voice: "Alright; can you give me a better location?"

"Unfortunately no, we've cancelled hikes and the guides are on vacation today. You'll have to scale the mountain yourself. If you need camping supplies I'll arrange for some. You may be up there a while."

Kim shook her head, "I'll be fine. Thanks for your time, Mister Slope."

"No problem."

XX

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron bowed politely as he entered Sensei's room. He wasn't sure what the training today was, but it was going to be an interesting lesson considering the preparations that went into it.

"Thank you," Sensei said as he turned to collect the water samples Ron brought from the mountain, "Sit, I will return shortly."

Ron did so and waited, glancing around. He was surprised to see the Lotus Blade there; normally it was kept in some place Ron didn't know (and he had a funny idea that he knew why). He smiled grimly; _nah, Kim wouldn't like it; slashing people in half ain't our style. Still, it'd be really handy; it can turn into _anything_… sword, club, pointy ball stick, nun chucks, boomerang, Swiss Army Knife, telephone…_

Sensei walked back in and sat across from Ron, who realized the table between them had a bo staff on it. He frowned, glancing back up as Sensei began, "One of the more useful powers a magic user has is the ability to charge an item temporarily with magic, enhancing the properties of the item. In the case of weaponry, it enhances the impact. Charging is a useful tool, for combat and for mundane uses such as strengthening a rope used to bind something or preventing overheating of a simple cooking pot."

Ron nodded, "So I'm to charge this staff here, for practice?"

"Correct. Some magical artifacts also accept such charging, such as the Lotus Blade." Sensei gestured over to it, "But unlike a mundane weapon, such can allow much more powerful strikes, or as an extension of yourself when using magic…"

Ron was smiling as he thought of uses for such charging, wondering if he hurled a football with a charge that someone who tried to intercept would be hit hard and may fumble it. _Wait, forget it,_ he thought as he cut himself off, _that's cheating, irresponsible use of magic. Still really cool though._

"So how do I do this charge?"

Sensei nodded sagely, "You must focus upon the object and let the energy flow. Such is an easy task with most inanimate objects, but when doing so to magical objects, you _must be careful_, such charging can give certain artifacts a link to drain you; more than one artifact is designed to do so to all but the owner so that none dare use their possessions."

He winced as he considered possibilities of that, none of them pretty. Melting into a pile of gray or green goo was probably the most lenient of the potential fates.

"The Lotus Blade is not one such object as it was intended to be passed down, but I would advise against charging it unless you intend to use it in combat, and then only charge it with your magic for the strike itself and _never_ in advance. Charge loses potency as time wears and there is little wisdom in excessive displays of charging a weapon. Magical artifacts can also suffer magical overload if you are not careful. Those such as the Lotus Blade can withstand more than you or I could power into it, but other artifacts are not so powerful and may explode or shatter if you are callous with charging it."

Ron nodded as he gained a further understanding, "So just charge when I'm actually going to swing or use it, not to be flashy, Limit it to what I need, nothing more."

"Correct. Now, I will walk you through the technique, and we shall practice on this bo staff."

And so they got to work. Ron was able to reach for his magic and call on it without issue; he'd finally broken that hurdle, but the technique was, while simple, difficult to pull off properly without practice, but he was getting better. Unfortunately, he accidently overcharged the staff, sending it flying out through the wall.

Twelve times.

In a different direction each time.

One for each hour of the clock.

But the good news was nobody was hurt by the flying staff, but Ron was definitely embarrassed by the end of the lesson. And dealt about five hundred yen worth of property damage.

XX

**Mount Middleton**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim, now suited up in her snow gear, climbed up the cliff face cautiously. She knew she should have gotten someone to stick with her in case she fell, but stealth was needed, so she went it alone. She pulled herself further up the rock face, enjoying the workout; it was a good _challenge_ in comparison to the somewhat monotonous workouts she did in the Middleton Gym. The good news was that Wade detected a blind spot using satellite images from GJ, who gave Kim a full go ahead to go in and do what was needed in consideration of the possible dangers involved with DNAmy's creations, though they had no knowledge of the lab.

The bad news was that the blind spot could only be reached by scaling this steep cliff. _Not very bad news,_ Kim had decided and she was still agreeing with the sentiment. The real bad news was that she'd be unable to call Wade without giving away her position as Wade noticed scans from the lab that were also checking for frequencies. And was specifically tuned to the ones she and Global Justice used. That worried Kim as the only villain who'd been smart enough to try it was Ron when he was turned evil and operating as 'Zorpox', but he had an in there since Ron knew the frequencies.

She was almost to the top of the cliff and could make out the ledge. She reached forward and continued to pull herself up. Once at the top, she pulled herself onto the ledge and caught her breath while looking around. It was snowy, but she could make out a small, rarely used trail if all the undisturbed snow on it was any indication. _Perfect,_ she decided and moved along it, keeping to the trees on the inner side (her left) as she quietly advanced. After a while, she began to notice there were footprints in the main trail… footprints of heavy combat boots. And they were fresh, heading up towards the mountain while some were heading down. Kim kept quiet as she snuck along, not wanting to encounter any henchmen before she had to. Experience had taught her that mountainsides were especially dangerous places to fight, and she had nearly died from falling excessive heights more than once.

It took her a half an hour to finally find a side trail and she took it despite signs of wear, noticing that it led up to a good vantage point. Once she reached the end of the trail, Kim put herself in a prone position to minimize her profile and pulled her binoculars out to observe the small plateau on the mountain across from where she was. She was able to make out two soldiers, renegades (she presumed) in PBD snow uniforms standing guard with GJA-14 _Katana_ shotguns. She noted the unusual choice of weaponry as she adjusted the earpiece in her helmet and activated the directional microphone on the binoculars so she could hear them. They weren't talking and were just breathing heavily in the cold, but Kim was concerned and was hoping that they weren't under mind control. Considering Gemini had pulled it off on some GJ agents in the past, she knew the risk was _very_ real. _Now I wish I brought the Tweebs along; a silicon phase disruptor would be perfect,_ she thought as she took stock of the situation. As Wade hadn't called her to let her know that GJ knew about the facility and it was part of some covert operation, she started looking for ways to breach the lab's security. She examined the path up into the lab, but could find no easy way in that would let her slip in undetected unless she was lucky or fast. _It won't be a stealth mission once I'm inside anyways,_ she decided, and moved back onto the main trail and followed it quickly.

She came to the last cover she'd have until she had to sprint across the thin path between mountain faces into the lair itself. She watched the guards from this last piece of cover, and the guards seemed to be bored, one casually holding his energy shotgun over his shoulder as he yawned. That was something she could count on to help, but she wasn't in snow camouflage. _Least my old outfit had that for dark corners;_ she mused briefly before shaking her head to clear those thoughts. She'd just have to wing it, and she did. Leaping onto the trail again and moving at full speed, she hurried down the path. The guards didn't notice her as she dropped below their line of sight for the moment.

As she came back up on their side of the mountain, she leapt at the right guard, who shouted and raised his energy shotgun, but Kim kicked him in the chest and knocked it away, a single heavy _blam_ sounding as the spray of energy spat into the snow and left smoke rising from the impact as the frozen H2O was boiled in an instant. The second guard didn't bother trying to aim his shotgun and dropped it as he activated his electro-gauntlets, swinging at her with proficient skill and accuracy. Despite this, she effortlessly dodged the strike and hit him with a right hook followed by several swift kicks to the chest, knocking him down and out. She went inside, pulling the helmet off as it wouldn't help her in here and dropped it by the door.

"No alarm," she whispered to herself in surprise before she started to creep down the hall, sticking to the side as best she could and looking for any security cameras. There was little wear on the shiny metal flooring and wall finish, telling her the lab was extremely new and by the hum of machinery she heard deeper down, the lab was in full operation. She passed by a few doors, but glancing into each one told her they were janitor's closets or bathrooms, the former more common than the latter. As she came to a four-way hall, she glanced in each direction, and quickly got back into cover as she saw a pair of renegades walking down the hall, energy rifles casually slung over their shoulders. She listened;

"_So Maddie, wanna go out tonight?"_ the male soldier asked, "_I can get a reservation easy if you're up for it."_

"_That's nice, Jack, but I have to head home; mother's sick."_

"_Oh; right."_ He sounded disappointed and Kim couldn't help but smirk at the hopeless suitor's dating attempt. The footsteps were closer now, and the guards were coming out by the corner…

She leapt out of concealment, tackling 'Maddie' and knocking her to the floor with a dull thud. Jack, an extremely large man, swore while grabbing his service pistol as he didn't have time to get his rifle off its back mount, but Kim swiftly grabbed his arm and twisted it briefly to force him to drop the pistol before she flung him into the wall with a judo throw, grunting under his sheer mass. He hit the chrome-finished wall with a grunt and slid down, head lolling to the side as he was knocked unconscious. She glanced around and smiled, pulling the two guards into one of the janitor's closets to give her a few more moments of stealth.

She paused, briefly considering taking one of the guard's uniforms so she could slip through any other patrols without having to use stealth, but then decided against it. She knew they wouldn't fit her because they were too large. Kim did find amusement from considering that a uniform too large would be better for her infiltration given her physique, but these uniforms were just too big to work. However, she did pick up their security cards and sealed the janitor's closet with them. "Perfect," she whispered to herself, knowing that with the cards she should be able to access and breach security doors these two were cleared for. Pocketing them, she walked back out and continued to sneak along the walls.

She came across a locked door and opened it with one of the security cards. Two guards and a technician turned as she entered. "_Kim Possible?_" the technician shouted, "What're you doing here?... _why_ do you look like you're going to beat us up?"

The two guards were quicker on the uptake though, and brought their GJA-13's to bear. Unfortunately for them, Kim was much faster. She ducked and got out of the way as they fired, the two guards blasting each other into the wall with their stun rounds. The technician screamed in horror and ran, but she leapt at him quickly, knocking him to the floor before he could pull the alarm. She checked to make sure he wasn't too hurt and confirmed he was only unconscious. She glanced at the computer terminal and smiled, pulling the technicians keycard from him.

Accessing the still-opened computer, she was able to access what the tech was controlling. She smiled even wider as she realized that she could disable the scanners and get Wade access as the actual device was located here. She got to work doing so, going through the screens until she found it: _Disable High-Tech Scanners_. She hit it and a small form came up and it requested ID. She put the tech's keycard in, getting a green light, and put in a quickly falsified maintenance need. The computer blinked an acceptance, and the advanced scanner went down as it _thought_ it was getting repairs. With the scanner down and communications presumably unmonitored, she decided to call Wade.

"_Kim?_" Wade asked, "_What happened to communications blackout?_"

"Disabled the scanner. Here, I'm linking you into the facility." She hit a few keys and Wade got to work, cracking into the opening Kim had made as Wade put his cyber-fu into full effect.

"_Got it! I'm in. Kim, there's a barracks full of guards a floor down, and the elevator is right next to it. I can't disable the cameras, so once you get out of the elevator you'll be swarming with these renegades."_

"Got it Wade; anything you can do?"

"_I could douse the lights if you have your nightvision goggles, but these renegades may have them too."_ Wade stated.

"Don't have them;" Kim answered, "They were destroyed at graduation, remember?"

"_Oh, right. Huh, the vents in the barracks are open. You have any of the lip gloss with you?"_

"Yeah; but gassing the whole place will get me too. I didn't bring a gas mask or a rebreather."

"_Don't worry; I'll lock the barracks down. Put it in the vent and let it loose then get into the elevator, it's sealed from the vents. I'll ping you when it's safe to get out."_

Kim nodded, and set to work. She opened a vent grate and inhaled as deeply as she could, opening it and letting the stink solution into the vents. She closed it once Wade beeped her Kimmunicator once, and she shut the grate, which Wade remotely sealed. She then hurried to the elevator, glad there wasn't any guards as she nearly needed to breathe for air as the solution began to spill despite Wade's vent adjustments. Once inside, she exhaled sharply, almost gasping for breath as the slid down on the elevator's walls. She stood up as the elevator stopped, dinging faintly. Wade gave her the signal, and she stepped out…

And the moment she did so, an alarm klaxon began to blare loudly, almost deafening her as a woman shouted over the intercom: _"Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Base perimeter has been breached! Repel the invader!"_

"There goes the stealth part of this mission," Kim dryly commented to herself as an enemy riot soldier rushed out with his shield and baton ready. She didn't want to know where or how these guys got genuine PBD equipment, but if DNAmy was behind this, she had a feeling she'd find out soon enough with the full facial masks they wore. The riot soldier swung at her while using his shield to try and force her into the wall where she'd be trapped between a hammer and anvil, but Kim leapt into the air over him and kicked him in the back of the head as she came down tumbling, knocking him forward. He grunted as he hit against the metal wall, turning awkwardly as his shield banged against it. He was dizzy from the experience, and Kim finished it with a few swift strikes to his chest, knocking the wind out of him. He collapsed and Kim rubbed her hands briefly. Even wearing thicker gloves than she usually did, hitting Kevlar armor never became less any painful for her.

She moved on, passing the knocked out barracks as the alert continued to blare loudly. Two more soldiers charged, one with electro-gauntlets active, the other crouching and taking aim with a GJA-13. Kim leapt into the air and pushed herself off the walls over and around the first clip of energy rounds as it was being expended, dodging all forty rounds as he fired a spray-and-pray barrage at her. As he reloaded, she grappled with the other soldier who struck hard and knocked her into the wall with a painful hit to the chest. Pushing herself off, she ducked under his next swing and flung him into the other soldier, leaving them as a neat pile to the side.

"Possible!" shouted a soldier with a GJA-15 _Vindicator_ hybrid, "What's going on?"

"Wait," Kim said as she turned, wondering why he wasn't just shooting her in the back with his fairly close range, "What're you talking about?"

"_Close the blast doors! Intruder identified! All hands target and gun down Kim Possible!"_

The soldier paused, and Kim realized that something was wrong. _If its mind control, it's wearing off…_ then she grunted as an energy blast caught her in the chest, sending her soaring backwards as her muscles started to spasm from the stun energy at close range. She snarled as the soldier took aim with another shot, Kim recognizing the rifle's shotgun mode. She pushed herself off and leapt over the conical burst that slammed into the wall and singed it before she landed, hitting him in the chest before hurling him into the floor and knocking the rifle away. He charged his energy gauntlets, but it was too little too late at this point: she was up close and easily knocked him out despite his futile swings. Getting up, she turned and rushed towards a door into a large room as it shut. She tucked and rolled forward as it nearly slammed down and crushed her like a pancake, giving her only a split second to spare from that grisly fate.

Kim got up as she stopped rolling, finding herself in the large room that was dome shaped. Within was a large amount of equipment _exactly_ like DNAmy's favored lab equipment. She suspected it actually _was_ her favored lab equipment, as she could make out a genetic splicer. There were large catwalks on the side where it looked like there were a series of small isolated areas for testing any experiments from the lab. In the center was a raised platform, and towards the back was a large amount of unpacked lab equipment. Kim could make out several thickly armored tubes of what she assumed was unstable chemicals to her right, hooked up to the genetic splicer. Kim was glad that DNAmy had learned from her previous mistakes, but she didn't see the obsessive collection of Cuddle Buddies that was in the previous one. Kim was _well_ aware of the fact DNAmy had recovered her collection. She concluded her observations noting a large door to the left, another blast door, but it didn't seem to be sealed.

Two laser turrets suddenly popped out from the floor before the unstable chemicals on her right and a large door on the left, and Kim leapt into the air before they fired, hitting the blast door harmlessly. She landed, and they fired again, only for her to step to the side and dodge. She spun into the air, and over as the lasers turned up, and they hit each other, disabling themselves. As she landed, she smiled, "Once again, cheerleading beats overly advanced hardware."

She glanced up as she heard a loud roar, and saw a giant hybrid animal stomp in from the large door she saw earlier. It was a hybrid of a rabbit and a rhinoceros, with two large buck teeth, fur, and rabbit ears but with the horn and thick skin of a rhino. Its muscular yet lean grey body was well protected from anything she could do to it between both thick hide and fur intended for the quite cold climate of the Rocky Mountains. Its actual face was lighter than its body, and cute whiskers came from its almost rectangular head along its mouth. She immediately had flashbacks to almost four years ago in vivid, rapid detail, practically pinning her in place as adrenaline surged and the door behind it sealed shut.

"_Shit_!" Kim swore, realizing just how screwed she was unless she could come up with something clever. She normally didn't swear, but this was a bowel breaking sight as DNAmy's huge monster confronted her for a one on one battle and she didn't have anything to take it out with. She sighed, rolling the sleeves of her snow gear up and glanced out of her peripheral vision for something that she could use. The rhino-rabbit charged at her and she barely had time to leap to the side as it collided with the blast door, tearing through it with its horn and pushing the now twisted metal outwards. It growled like a fierce wounded animal as it pulled itself out, leaping at her.

Kim barely had time to get clear as it landed, the shockwave of such a landing blowing her away into a thick and (fortunately) armored tube of unstable chemicals. Grunting as she hit it and fell down, she pushed herself back up and kept moving, running through a gauntlet of various lab equipment sets in an obstacle course of escaping death, her limbs aching moderately from the impacts she'd taken. She reached a dead end and turned around as the rhino-rabbit charged after her, snarling at her. She leapt up and landed on its back, causing it to skid to a halt as she ran forward and leapt onto the lab equipment. It began to slam on it, trying to knock her off as the lab equipment shook heavily from each hit. "Wade!" she shouted as she leapt over a gap, gripping a catwalk and pulling herself up, "Got a big hairy problem! When did DNAmy's buddies get released?"

"_Trying to figure that out Kim! GJ just said that a PBD officer is swearing up a storm on their channels, I think something's going down. They're trying to find out what!"_

"Anything on the rhino- hang on!" she leapt off the catwalk as the rhino-rabbit leapt up, nearly smashing her off of the catwalk as she leapt, drawing her grappling hook and shooting it at the ceiling, the hook embedding itself, and she swung across and released the grapple. The rhino-rabbit roared again, loud enough to shake the lab equipment and cause her to stagger. She was panting at this point with the athletics she had to pull off to avoid getting hit. She landed atop the genetic splicer, turning as the rhino-rabbit continued its pursuit.

"_No, you try shocking it?"_

Kim flipped the shock stick out and zapped at the rhino-rabbit. The arc of electricity sped across and hit it, arcing along, but besides the faint odor of singed fur, there was no effect. "Yeah, just did. Nothing." She quickly shot another grapple into the domed ceiling and soared away as the rhino-rabbit began to climb up on the splicer.

"_Its skin is thick; try getting a breach!"_

Kim released the grapple as it began to break out of the ceiling, falling and landing on another catwalk. She sped down as the rhino-rabbit began to pull the catwalks down from under her. She panted heavily as she ran for her life, trying to figure out how to stop the thing. She couldn't _find_ anything she could turn on the hybrid to take it down as she reached the end of the catwalk and leapt down, landing with a roll as she kept sprinting. The rhino-rabbit pursued as she leapt onto the central platform, leaping off as it landed on it, splintering the place and sending her flying away again as the shockwave caught her, knocking her against an unpacked crate of equipment.

Crashing against it, she pushed herself away as the rhino-rabbit turned towards her again, growling fiercely. She hurried past the genetic splicer and ran by the unstable chemicals, towards the broken blast door, but as she got closer, she realized it wasn't breached enough for her to slip through, and the door didn't look like it was going to open. She saw the (now right) blast door and ran forward towards the access panel as the rhino-rabbit skidded to a halt as it tried to turn, it's bushy tail briefly hitting the broken blast door.

"Come on, come on, work for Kim…" she muttered desperately as she accessed the panel, trying each of the ID cards, but it was rejected each time. She glanced behind her, the rhino-rabbit was beginning to charge again, and to her left was a solid wall.

She didn't have any other option and ran to the right, taking cover in a maze of lab equipment. She swore it was larger on the inside than the outside as she ducked left, right, doubling back at U-turns, zigzagging through the maze. The rhino-rabbit maintained pursuit regardless, the thunder of its thumping feet as it gave chase causing her vision to bounce. She darted to the left again when she suddenly found herself caught between a wall and two huge stacks of packed lab equipment, like an open box before the trap was closed. "Oh no, dead end!" she gasped in horror as she skidded to a halt and turned around hoping to clear herself from the trap in time. She couldn't: the rhino-rabbit had already gotten in the way and boxed her in like a rat. She heard a loud noise in the distance, that of metal collapsing, but she hardly registered it as she felt fear rushing through her body.

The rhino-rabbit galloped at her and this time, she was stuck. _You only got one chance, Possible, make it count!_ She thought as she tried to leap up and climb over it, but as she jumped it grabbed her and dragged her to the floor, pinning her and snarling at her with its hot, smelly breath beating down on her as it looked at her with furious rage. Kim struggled, trying to pull herself out; she had no intention of getting eaten by a hybridized herbivore. _Way to go, Possible,_ she thought grimly as she realized she was stuck, _you got your ass handed to you by a giant mutant_, she struggled to get free as the rhino-rabbit's huge buck teeth closed on her neck.

"_Don't hurt her!"_ shouted a woman with an innocent voice, "_Let her go, it's alright, come to momsy, Thumper, it's alright… it's alright…"_

Kim paused as she tried to place the voice, it was _very_ familiar to her and upon hearing it the rhino-rabbit let her go and trotted off. She pushed herself up to see DNAmy in lab gear petting the aberrant hybrid gently, "It's OK, it's OK; she didn't know about the deal."

"Deal? What deal?" Kim asked with a frown when and about twenty-five soldiers took up positions, some with riot shields forming a barrier while others aimed GJA-13's and 14's at her. A female officer with a captain's insignia walked up to the forefront of the semicircle aimed at her.

"Miss Possible; you're under arrest for trespass, forced entry, assault and battery of PBD officers, and vandalism." The officer said with her hands held behind her back, the nametag reading '_Sarah Wesley_'. "If you don't comply we _will_ use force, lethal if necessary."

"Stand down," DNAmy said, turning, "She wasn't aware of the agreement. No one was."

"She just _assaulted my men_."

"And in the agreement, I'm in charge of this facility. Or do you _not_ want my expertise?"

"Miss Hall…"

"Don't be such a meanie! She probably got a call about the chemicals we bought under-the-table and you're aware this is _hardly_ a public lab."

"I'm not backing down," Captain Wesley said with a low, threatening voice as she sneered, "Men, take Possible into custody."

"Stand down," DNAmy said as the rhino-rabbit growled at the soldiers, who looked at each other and edged backwards a few steps. Had the circumstances been different, Kim would have found the scene hilarious, but they weren't. What really got her was the fact she just beat the daylights out of the guys she was on the _same side_ of. Even if she didn't have the full story it was hardly a way to help GJ protect the reconstruction and help ensure a safe free world. The officer stared daggers at her and Kim wondered if she should be watching her back for snipers, especially considering PBD bases usually had at least one for long range support.

"Fine, I'll call the General." Wesley darkly stated, "Men, keep an eye on Possible. If she tries to leave the facility, take her down."

The soldiers saluted as she left, and filed out of the lab. The rhino-rabbit put a paw to its face, where it was bleeding from hitting the blast doors. DNAmy hugged the aberration, baby-talking it as Kim glanced around, calling Wade as DNAmy walked back into the main area of the lab near the wreckage of the central platform.

"_Hey Kim; yeah, I know it's too late, but…"_

"The lab was run by PBD, yeah… GJ get the full story?"

"_Affirmative,_" Dr. Director said as she came onto the channel, "_Needless to say, I've had some choice words with Brigadier General Duran about arranging for a villain's release from Cell Block D. PBD doesn't have that authorization unless said villain's sentence is actually up."_

"General Duran?" Kim asked with a frown as she began walking out of the maze of lab equipment, "I thought General Malta was in charge of PBD activities in Middleton."

"_So did I,"_ Dr. Director answered. _"GJ will be investigating this, but since you were investigating a legitimate concern and potential security risk, they can hardly blame you. Still, it is within Duran's profile and character to be extremely volatile about his actions being disrupted."_

"_Define volatile,"_ Wade asked, "_Because if he goes too far-"_

"_He'll attempt to see her incarcerated for this, but it won't stick. Don't worry about it; I'll handle him and talk to General Malta, he won't be happy about Duran doing something like this in his jurisdiction. This isn't the first time he's done something under the books, but it is a first for something else. He evidently had authorization to begin this research, however, and recruited DNAmy for that purpose."_

Kim nodded as she glanced over towards DNAmy as she came out of the maze, "I'll see if I can't find out anything here; doesn't sound like he'll come around and out on this."

"_Affirmative. Remain in the base until dismissed; we'll iron things out on this end. Doctor Director signing off."_ She cut her connection to the channel, and Wade nodded before ending the transmission. Kim sighed, then walked towards DNAmy, who was nursing the cuts her so-called '_pet_' had.

"So…" Kim awkwardly asked, "What's the sitch here?"

"Oh! PBD wanted my expertise with DNA; after all I'm called DNAmy for a reason… anyways, he was willing to let me retire peacefully with no further penalties from the genomic sequencer's theft if I did research into alien DNA samples PBD had."

"Wait, alien DNA?" Kim frowned, immediately thinking of graduation and Area 51.

"Yeah; apparently they got some samples from the wreckage from those meanie walker's mother-ship. Thanks for not completely wrecking its med bay, by the way. It's really interesting to examine some of the samples from it. Oh, the limitless knowledge!"

"Heh, thank Ron; he was the one who practically demolished the ship. With the aliens themselves." She sheepishly answered, "So, why does he want you to do it?"

"Well, evidently he thinks genetic augmentations could be gained, you know, sort of like what HenchCo uses. Oh, it'll be amazing to make hybrids of human an alien, without needing to drag an alien into a genetic splicer! It's one plus point five equals two!"

Kim inhaled sharply and backed a few steps away. DNAmy was one of the less evil villains she faced, but she made up for it in sheer _creepiness_ and her obsession with hybrids. If she had an upside, Kim had long ago decided, it was that she tended to be harmless on the large scale, which was saying something given the unstable technology she worked with. And being fused with alien DNA was _not_ something she would wish on her worst enemies, in fact, she didn't even think human DNA would be compatible enough for it to work.

XX

**PBD Firebase Alternate-1**

**Upperton, Colorado**

Brigadier General Malta held his fingers in a tent as he frowned, listening to Brigadier General Duran and Dr. Director.

"_I want Possible incarcerated immediately!"_ Duran demanded, _"She just took out one of my bases. If she was a PBD soldier or GJ meat bag she'd of been brought in on charges, I don't see why her being a freelancer has anything to do with this! Bah, she's nothing better than a mercenary whore, why're we even bothering with this conversation!"_

"_General Duran, your experiments were kept off the books and under the table and you used technology that was, based on all evidence, illegally acquired from BioTech Unlimited." _Doctor Director responded,_"An auditor from BioTech noted this and called Kim to check out given the fact that the cargo mysteriously disappeared without a trace en route and the fact that those chemicals have been used for nefarious purposes in the past. A tech scan that GJ correlated indicated energy scans from the equipment in said secret lab coming from Mount Middleton. Given rumors of a snow beast going around again, Kim was investigating what she recognized DNAmy's handiwork._ _Given her equally mysterious escape from Cell Block D, the only logical conclusion with such information was she had escaped and was up to her old tricks again. __Given that you did not inform either Global Justice or General Malta, who is _responsible_ for the nearest PBD Firebase to your lab and the fact that Miss Possible contacted us prior and received a full go ahead from us means that in technicality, Global Justice was investigating a potential high-tech hazard to the free world, as is our duty, which is not unlike your own."_

"_More like you let a mercenary do what she wanted."_ Duran bitterly answered, _"Has Global Justice really fallen so far that it can't fight its own battles and has to rely on a mid-pubescent bitch to do its work?"_

General Malta shook his head; he normally didn't agree wholeheartedly with Doctor Director, but this was one time where he was really on her side of an argument. Duran's badmouthing did not help his case either, as Kim had likely felt the full joys of puberty by then. "She's correct, General Duran. I wouldn't of sent Possible in alone, but had I gained similar information, I would have acted on the knowledge I had and was able to access. Because it is our responsibility to prevent these so-called villains from endangering innocent lives with their experiments so it becomes necessary for those like Kim to intervene, a pre-emptive strike with that evidence fits well within our rules of engagement. As you're aware, no one was killed, and while there were several injuries, none were serious."

"_And about ten thousand dollars worth of equipment was destroyed. Tell me, can that be replaced so easily?"_ Duran angrily replied, _"I want Possible locked up in Cell Block D for this! She almost entirely destroyed the lab!"_

"_General, the only damage she directly did was to the guards and their combat equipment, a damage that is well calculated in the budget. It was DNAmy's hybrid rhino-rabbit did most of the damage to the lab."_ Doctor Director countered, _"Are you going to hold that abominable aberration responsible as well?"_

Malta sighed, shaking his head as Duran answered, _"It was answering to Possible's break in; any damage it dealt is her responsibility! It is not the responsibility of DNAmy's pet."_

"Why did you let DNAmy keep her pets anyways, or allow them near such a lab?" Malta asked, "It sounds to me like you knew the risks of such if there was a break-in."

"_She refused to leave Cell Block D without them released from our labs,"_ Duran stated, _"Besides, I suspected having that around would be useful if someone attempted to break in, just like Possible did. Given it managed to corner her and almost used her for floss, I was correct."_

Malta smacked a hand to his forehead and sighed as he pulled it down. This was just too much of a mess for him. "Doctor Director," he stated as he pulled his hand away from his face, "Kim falls under GJ's purview more than she does PBD's. What's your status on this mess and what we should do about it?"

"_I think that we need to debrief her. I expect she shall be sending an apology for the misidentification, but otherwise all that occurred was a grievous miscommunication between our branches and reasonable reactions based in incomplete information."_

"_Bullshit!"_ Duran thundered, _"Don't play favorites just because the cheerleader can wipe the walls with all your incompetent so-called agents, Doctor Director. If you have a problem with detaining her, I'll send in my snipers with GJA-19's, she's only mortal. Or we can just have her international visa redacted, so when she tries to go do her amateurish stunts again, we can pick her up that way and get local law enforcement's support. I doubt she'd resist honest cops doing their jobs."_

Doctor Director stared hard through Duran's view screen on her end, enough that Malta almost pitied Duran as she began; _"General Duran, I think you've misunderstood me. I'm confident that we could detain Possible if needed, but the need to do so is not yet here. She verified that it wasn't a secret lab of ours and since PBD is supposed to log these kinds of bases with Global Justice just like we do for you, that should settle the matter."_

"_Bah; I'm taking this to the Security Council. See what they think. Mark my words, these vigilante screw-ups we've allowed to roam free are going to be the death of us all. Stopping these kinds of incidents is _exactly_ why PBD was founded in the first place."_ With that statement of livid disgust, Duran cut the feed. Director shook her head and glanced at Malta again as he leaned his cheek against his fist, slowly shaking his head.

"Well, this was a mess." Malta said, "But while I disagree about incarcerating Possible given she acted reasonably with the evidence she had, he did have a point about accountability."

"_What are you suggesting?_" Doctor Director asked with a frown, her one good eye focusing on him.

"I think we need to 'enlist' her sometime soon. She's already expressed interest in joining Global Justice, so I would personally suggest you extend the offer to her. She's old enough now. Yes, she hasn't started college, that's true, but I think that can be taken care of given we have soldiers in our ranks who're still going to night courses." He didn't like the idea; in fact, he was opposed to Kim joining either PBD or GJ just yet, but she needed accountability in either organization, her civilian status was becoming a problem between not being obligated to file full reports and this, he was starting to wonder if he had made the wrong choice in planning to convince her to play poster girl for getting a lid on powers before it was too late.

"_I will make the offer, but she's made it clear she wants to at least finish college first. If you want her to consider PBD that's your area, not mine."_

"Of course. I'll see if I can't speak to her soon. General Malta signing out." With a nod, he cut the transmission and sighed, leaning back in his chair. The afternoon was indeed an annoying one; between this and a report he'd been reading on a major HenchCo expo coming soon he really wondered if the dogs hadn't broken the leash already. _Then again, Hench keeps it legal enough to pass. Bah, he should have been shut down years ago._ He just hoped Global Justice's agents in there would be able to nullify anything.

XX

"**Secret" PBD Research Lab**

**Mount Middleton**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim had to admit it: DNAmy was a talented geneticist given her ability to splice DNA together and built as if she was playing with _Lego_ bricks. But what surprised her was that DNAmy was good enough with tools to maintain all her own equipment: she had already repaired some of the damages that had been caused in the lab, all with parts on-hand.

"Of course, it's going to take a while to fix all the way; catwalks aren't exactly my area," DNAmy stated as she reconnected tubes to a vat of likely unstable chemicals, "But then again, we can't do anything. 'cept for you, I guess."

"Yeah, I'm lucky like that…" Kim slowly answered with a frown, "So what kind of DNA research did this Duran want?"

"Didn't I say it already, silly? He wants me to see if we can't hybrid human and alien DNA. Just think of the amazing work behind it!"

Kim thought of that and the possibilities. None of them were looking good to her the way she saw it. She had enough problems with Hench's genetic modifications to Dementor's henchmen; she didn't need to fight henchmen boosted up to the level of aliens that she had to wear the battle suit to fight one-on-one. Even the benefit of powerful GJ or PBD soldiers wasn't something she thought was worth it and she personally felt that using these things cheated people out of working for it, the thing that made real fighters. The door opened again and Captain Wesley walked in with a scowl on her face. Kim turned towards her as DNAmy just continued working. "Captain Wesley?"

"You're free to go, Possible, but if I see you back in here without authorization, I won't hesitate to go full protocol on you. Have a nice day." The PBD officer said darkly. Kim nodded slowly, knowing that she didn't make any friends that day.

"I understand," Kim said, then nodded, walking out.

As she rode up the elevator, the door opened and one of the soldiers she beat up was leaning against the wall, he looked up as she came out. "Hey, Possible!" he said. Kim was worried it would be a problem as he stood off the wall and looked at her.

"What's the sitch?" Kim asked.

"Just wanted you to know a lot of us aren't holding ill will over this. I mean, it isn't every day we get to say we got our asses handed to us by _the_ Kim Possible," he said with a smile, chuckling faintly, "There's a heck of a thing to tell the kids, eh?"

"Uh, right." Kim answered, caught off guard by how _well_ they were taking the fact that they got the daylights beaten out of them. She really hoped it was more than just hard heads, because if it was, then she wasn't sure if they were thinking straight. "No one was really hurt?"

"Nah," the soldier answered, "Few bruises but we're all fine. Don't worry 'bout us or the Captain, she tends to take things outta proportion."

_Unfortunately she may have a better grip on this then these guys…_ Kim worriedly thought, realizing that what she did _should_ have landed her a spot in Cell Block D, but it wasn't. She wasn't sure how much the fact that she was acting on information she had and had checked with Global Justice would actually protect what she did to these men and women doing their jobs. She walked out of the base, picking up her helmet at the door, surprised no one grabbed it, and headed down the mountainside, using the main trail rather than the blind spot.

It was evening by the time she had gotten back to her home.

XX

**Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

Drakken hummed to himself as he set to work, experimenting with the schematics he had found in Dementor's archives. The poor synthodrone he was playing with was silent and unmoving, but Drakken could tell it wasn't pleasant with the experience as he modified the circuits with new targeting capabilities. _Grenades are nice, but once I'm done these drones can use electrostaffs or actual ranged weapons!_ he thought with a smile as he continued working, connecting the wires back together. He always disliked the fact that synthodrones were unable to man equipment or use weapons because of programing limitations on most of them… except for 901._Alas, poor Erik, I knew you well,_ he thought with a sigh. If he had to pick one synthodrone, it'd be Erik. Top of the line upgrades and a literal made-to-order hottie, he showed just how easy it was to lure Kim Possible into a trap. Of course, that avenue had been welded shut thanks to her and Ron finding their feelings for each other.

"Doctor D?" Shego asked from behind him.

"Huh? What?" Drakken asked, feeling like a deer in the headlights as he was jolted out of his thoughts.

"The drone's melting."

"Huh? Aw doodles…" he said as he turned to see the drone melting as it's skin had been breached by the tweezers he used. He sighed, "That's it, maybe the first upgrade I need to do to these things is armor. Come on, the naked weasel can bite through these things."

"Well, they _are_ supposed to be expendable, Doc. I mean, you admitted it yourself, making them to function as henchmen replacements just didn't work out because they're inherently more fragile." Shego pointed out, "Maybe getting those old armors out wouldn't be a bad idea, or try another type of robot."

Drakken inhaled, sighing, "Maybe, but synthodrones are _my_ invention and even if HenchCo got their hands on the ability to make them, they're still my patent." He paused, curling his lip, then muttered to his self, "Not that I actually patented it..."

"Well doc, I can always check the arsenal that's up in Greenland if you want."

Drakken frowned, considering. "Hmmm… yes, I think that would be a worthwhile trip. You want to go alone or should I come with you?"

"Whatever works for you."

Drakken glanced at the melted drone and it's central parts, then back at Shego. "I'll stay here, I think. Keep up the work and get these modifications ironed out. Hopefully I'll have something worthwhile to use on Dementor once you're back."

"Alright then Doc, see you tomorrow."

XX

**End Chapter**

*** A filler chapter, really. I always wanted to establish that PBD is somewhat eff'd up when you consider that, going by the fic using the blue-Kevlar wearing soldiers as PBD, hire and sanction experiments into things like Mind Control (see **_**The Twin Factor**_** for that story), and I always find the TV Trope "Civil Warcraft" to be an interesting one to look at. In this case, it's a case of epic communication failure. Think about it; in the KP setting secret labs are practically run of the mill/daily. People like Kim break into these labs. I've always wondered if she's ever gotten word of a black ops one that was actually ran by the good guys; call this fleshing out the idea. Though to be honest, I personally think Kim should of realized it was a PBD base sooner, that'd just ruin the suspense. Heck, if someone didn't realize it was a PBD firebase when I make mention of the GJA armaments they're using, then well, not sure what I can do.**

*** DNAmy is a villain that I find is less evil and more just insane/extremely obsessive. She's still evil, but in comparison to some of the other villains like Monkey Fist, she's mild. Alright, so potentially her two henchmen in Downhill were people she kidnapped, but that was never confirmed so we have no way of knowing besides fan theory. She's also interesting to write, given these facts.**

*** Sorry folks; Drakken and Shego won't show up in the next chapter at the Henchlympics. They'd notice Kim in a heartbeat and basically SNAFU the entire operation, so the iron fisted hand of plot intervenes. Well, Kim/Ron/Shego/Junior/Senior seem to all acknowledge the genre savvy things to do, they just seem to have a 4th wall realization that they have to do something for the plot :P**

*** Ron's "charging" magic trick is pretty much just setting up for rule of cool. Hitting someone with a magical blade is badass. Hitting someone with a magical blade that glows with power for additional massive damage? **_**That**_** just exponentially increases the badassery. And crosses the line into overkill and "everybody gun that super down NOW!"**

*** I probably should of mentioned this last chapter, but Mister Cuirass, the curator at the Tri-City Museum, is the same man that Kim and Ron talked to in ASiT after the **_**Tempus Simia**_** was stolen. Obviously, the events of that timeline are technically non-canon in the sense that they didn't happen in the 'main' timeline, but are canon in the sense that they happened, they just didn't... (Quote Ron; **_**"Time Travel, it's a cornucopia of disturbing concepts"**_**)**

*** Several original character's have visuals made using **_**Mission Architect**_** in Paragon Studios' **_**City of Heroes**_** on DeviantArt at my account LukeDanger for those interested in seeing my interpretation of how they look. Up at this point are, of those that have actually appeared so far, General Adrian Malta, Robert "Shieldbash" Webber, and Fredrick von Vage.**

*** As another note, expect updates to be biweekly now rather than weekly. This should give me less crunch time and allow me to keep 'draft space' made ahead. I've done it for two weeks but never made a note of it. However, expect Chapter 11 to come in three weeks as I want time to work on my entry to AmericanGecko's Minor Character Contest.**

*** I also apologize for being late on this update, but I was recovering from a case of "America, Fuck Yeah!" after I found out the news of what happened May 1st, 2011 ;)**

**XX**

**XX**

**-=Document Recovery: "Wade Load"=-**

_Source: Global Justice Databank_

_Select Data Folder:_

**Important Figures/Teams/Organizations:**

_Choose File Set:_

_**Team Possible:**_

**-Sub-Directories:**

_**Members:**_

File: IMP-03

_Subject:__ Wade Load_

_Alias:__ Geek-One (online nickname/standard GJ operational codename)_

_Gender:__ Male_

_DOB:__ September 17th, 1992_

_Classification:__ Non-Combatant (Akin to a Mad Scientist; relies on gadgetry)_

_Origin:__ Tech (No known powers, but extremely reliant on technology)_

_Affiliation:__ Freelances his talents occasionally to companies such as Valkyrie Dynamics as well as Global Justice, but is not directly affiliated outside of Team Possible_

_Citizenship__: United States of America_

_Summery/History__:_

_- If Kim Possible is the tank, then Wade Load is the engineer who keeps it operational for combat situations. Subject is the backbone of Team Possible's operations; without him, they would have great difficulty operating as they would lose access to free and reliable gadgetry and someone able to maintain watch on incoming calls. Given the subject is not yet old enough to hold a proper job to use his talents he has found a calling in Team Possible. Wade is notable also for being the only member of Team Possible at this time who was not there in the founding, being recruited approximately three months after she rescued Mister Paisley during the events of her run-in with a WWEE front company (see file MOA-01B). Wade had provided her with the lead and also provided subtle hacking support for the operation and approached Kim after it had finished, offering to maintain her site for her. Although somewhat hesitant at first, Kim accepted the offer after she verified his story. He was skipped ahead to the High School level and by the age of ten he had aced both high school and college (in six months) with degrees in engineering and a wide array of physics and a minor in biological chemistry._

_- Wade Load's actions have been on the subtler side in comparison to Kim Possible or Ron Stoppable, but Global Justice is keeping an eye on him as he has the very easy potential to become a very effective villain. This was made clear when Drew Lipski (AKA Doctor Drakken) had knocked out Wade's systems and used video and audio mimicry to impersonate him, resulting in him using Kim to acquire the "Transportulator", a teleportation device designed by Professor Dementor (see file HTS-32). Should Wade turn, he would be able to manipulate the rest of Team Possible towards his evil schemes. Fortunately, due to finally meeting him in person several times this is less likely to be unnoticed instead of before when they never met in person._

_- Wade Load has designed a large array of gadgets in use by Team Possible, the most iconic of these being Kim's grappling hook, her battle suit, and the 'Kimmunicator', a pun-named PDA-like device recently converted into a watch form used for communication purposes. Other gadgets he has developed includes 'laser lipstick', a compact mirror using an ablative glass composite to deflect plasma and laser based weaponry, a (rarely used) stealth suit, rocket rollerblades, a hologram which can be used for anyone but most notably Kim, electromagnetic scramblers, and many more situational gadgets. His skill in creating these from relatively mundane and common components has given GJ logistics agents pause, but duplication of his methods have proven to be inefficient without his personal touch._

_- Global Justice agents have recommended recruiting him into its science and engineering divisions to benefit from his skills and to hopefully find ways of mass producing his gadgetry, even if it must be in a watered down state for such. Given his scientific skills, Global Justice agents believe that he will be capable of advancing human technology to new levels and what was once thought of as Science Fiction will become reality._

_- Wade has recently been contracted by Global Justice to develop new combat armor and it is intended to contact him as well as Jim and Tim Possible in regards to reverse engineering alien technology recovered, as PBD Brigadier General "Pinpoint" Townes has been having difficulty in that department (See File LTD-66). Given Wade had managed to figure out how to reverse the secondary radiation effects from the alien's plasma weapons. He has also written reports on synthodrones, Diablo-class robots, "lorwardian" walkers, and villainous mechanization, (See File Set LRW)._

_Combat Style:_

_- Wade Load lacks combat proficiency and his large, mostly out of shape body is not suitable for direct combat. However, Wade is extremely effective at using his gadgets to great effect despite his lack of field experience causing some friendly fire incidents within Team Possible (See File NIA-16), but in general he has shown improvement. Like Kim Possible, he has taken a Global Justice Demolitions course and is fully certified for using high explosives ranging from his custom-made (and rarely used) sonic mines all the way to C4 charges. Because of this, Wade falls in a support role for Team Possible._

_- However, it's been noted by GJ spies that he has recently been working on a wrist-based device of some sorts that seems to be designed to remotely engage electronics, presumably robotics given his previous work with synthodrone AI. Global Justice will monitor this closely._

_Weaknesses__:_

_- He is not a combatant, and can be easily detained by most with any form of combat training. He is also inexperienced in the field, although he is nigh impossible to stop once he is accessing a computer terminal or manipulating technology. As such, the best way to detain him if needed is to isolate him from technology before going in for the nullification. He is not a major combat threat, but if he can avoid combat he can become nigh impossible to trace due to his computer skills._

_Conclusions:_

_- Wade Load would be a fine recruit for Global Justice's R&D and technology arms. Given his incredible score on the Genius Aptitude Test (146), he ranks amongst the foremost minds of the day despite his young age. This great potential must be carefully cultivated and steps must be taken to ensure he does not fall into madness. Given he is practically a mad scientist himself (albeit a non-evil one), it is predicted that the right conditions could turn him into such and add yet one more threat to free world. However, if cultivated properly his potential could be a key player in ushering in a golden age for humanity in the aftermath of the alien invasion should his invention abilities become duplicated and usable by the common man._


	11. Chapter 11: Best Henchman Ever

_"I never could understand why Kim was so hyperactive and had that pride. I mean, sure, animology said she was a 'perfectionist' and 'driven to excel', but come on, that's an understatement in comparison to the things she tries to do. It's actually worrying sometimes what lengths she'd go to when Bonnie pushed the right buttons, I mean, she went for _Erik_ of all people because of 'the food chain' and all that weird girl stuff that man will never understand. She went on a date with Josh Mankey despite being hit with Drakken's weird science. She _lied to me_ on Halloween! Come on, how does pride make someone do that?"_

- Ron Stoppable, commenting on Kim's pride, as recorded in his _Liber Memoriarum_

_"The best thing about the Henchlympics? People can nail each other in the competitions to shut up the taunter. Here's the thing though, you nail someone else, everyone decides to nail you. Bit of an odd honor thing, ya'know? Anyways, this oughta be great!"_

- Reid Shier, a henchman in HenchCo's employ in regards to the Henchlympics

**Chapter 11: Best Henchman Ever!**

**July 25****th****, 2007**

**Main Study**

**Senior's Island**

Senior Senior Junior smiled as Bonnie told him that she was settling in well, at least until she went off to college. He wasn't sure why she was actually heading to this 'college' thing, but he wouldn't begrudge her. _Something about rivalry with Possible… must be a girl thing,_ he decided as he thought on it, bringing up the screen as he had some business to attend to. "Mister Hench, good afternoon," he said as the dealer appeared on the screen.

"_Morning for me, but yes, good afternoon."_ The hench-dealer responded with a suave smile in his usual black suit.

Junior nodded, then asked: "I'm calling as to why the contact you said would be coming over hasn't arrived yet. I don't buy nothing, you know."

"_Ah, I apologize, senior Junior, I meant to have my secretary call you about that earlier. You see, senior Cañar has expressed interest in speaking to you at the Henchlympics tomorrow and joining you on your way back from them. I did hear that you were planning on attending so consented. Is that acceptable?"_

Junior leaned back in the chair, frowning, and weighing it. _Well, I would like to see the Henchlympics and see some of the guys I might be hiring…_ he liked the idea and bet that Bonnie would enjoy getting to see it too, especially seeing the all-virtual simulated duel with Kim Possible. Now _that_ was going to be a big one. No henchman or woman had ever done it successfully and it was a perfect way to get the grand mass needed to win the grand prize. He wondered for a moment if competing wouldn't be a bad idea; he certainly would be in the second-in-villainy category. _And maybe I can make my father proud; maybe I'm not good enough for the X-Games, but here's something I am fairly good at._

"Very well Mister Hench, that's acceptable, but I'd like to talk to him now and set some ground rules for when he arrives."

"_Of course! I'll patch you through; hang on, may take him a minute to connect."_

"Alright," Junior said, "I can wait." And indeed he could, Hench minimized the transmission while his technicians began patching and Junior pulled out a mirror, meticulously checking his hair for split ends or cowlicks. He was running low on _Le Goup_ to put onto it, and needed to visit France sometime soon to pick up another month's supply or so. He was interrupted from his thoughts by another beep as Hench came back, introducing his new mercenary contact through HenchCo's new program.

XX

**WEE Headquarters**

**Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean**

Gemini smiled as Agent Sigma gave the list of fine candidates for the Henchlymics. He would be speaking to Hench directly over better henchmen for his Worldwide Evil Empire then as such a thing required a _personal_ touch in his mind. He closed his cybernetic hand into a fist as he listened to the report, qualifications and weight class that each henchman would participate in. Pepe was sleeping in his doggy bed under the console.

"So, who's going to be in our Second-in-Villainy weight slot?" Gemini asked as he looked over the electronic report and the profiles, "I don't see one."

"Sir," Agent Sigma said, "The only one who would be available for such and meets the qualifications is Agent Alpha and she is currently on assignment issued by you directly."

Gemini nodded, "Recall her immediately; the infiltration of Middleton High can wait… speaking of such, has she found a student susceptible to our efforts?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good. Method of control?"

"Rima."

"Excellent. Very good, Agent Sigma… _very_ good."

"Thank you sir, just doing my job, sir!" But something was troubling Sigma; Gemini couldn't tell what it was. Frowning and glancing around, Gemini decided to ask.

"What's the matter, Agent Sigma?"

"Sir, permission to question value of infiltration of Middleton High School? Sir."

Gemini frowned. That was unusual from Agent Sigma, who was normally so on-top of the game and even guessed Gemini's secondary orders quite often and had taken visible and nearly complete-save-for-time steps. "Does it require explanation, Agent Sigma?"

"You want to nullify the Possible twins before they can become a threat?"

Gemini frowned deeply, while that would be a boon… "Have you forgotten that Kim Possible cleared our entire base not once, but _three times?_"

"Yes sir, but... she's graduated from Middleton High School. She did so in the immediate aftermath of the alien attack. It was going on when it started, even. Sir."

"_WHAT?_" Gemini roared loudly, slamming his cybernetic fist on the control panel, "Why was I not informed of this?" He hit a button angrily and turned the intercom on before shouting angrily, "_AGENT GAMMA! GET UP HERE!_"

Sigma stepped back a foot, deathly afraid while Pepe perked up and shivered audibly. Gemini wracked his brains, trying to find out if he'd just missed something or if Gamma _really_ was this incompetent. He concluded the latter. He already disposed of Agent Delta for failure to maintain his image, but did he have to also give the boot to _Gamma_ as well?

Agent Gamma was a small woman as she hurried up the steps worried, and Gemini frowned. _Wait a minute… where is he-_ he leaned back as he realized he _already disposed of_ that Agent Gamma. She saluted him, quaking in her boots. Gemini realized he needed to save face, so quickly thought, his mind a whir as he recalled the agents' assignments.

"Agent Gamma, what is the status of Project Popinjay?"

"On schedule, sir!" she answered with fear echoing in her voice. That pleased him; she knew his reputation and that meant she knew the punishment for failure.

Gemini smiled, nodding, "Very well. Return to work immediately." She did so, hurrying down the stairs as Sigma glanced around, visibly confused by the lack of a seat.

"Sir?"

"Thank you, Agent Sigma, for bringing up a gap in our intelligence. Even though such was already rectified, it seems its damage was not so. Tell me, how did you know that Possible had graduated?"

"It was the cover story of the _Humans_ magazine just prior, sir." Sigma explained, "It wound up becoming one for different reasons when it actually happened, however. Sir."

Gemini stroked Pepe with his organic hand as the dog jumped up and sat on his lap, "Good. Keep up the good work, man. Dismissed."

"Yes sir!"

XX

**Global Justice Headquarters**

**Somewhere under the Tri-City area**

Kim nearly staggered from the sudden stop of the GJ transport tube, but she was glad that this time she just had to go into a small room in a GJ front company she already knew about rather than being dropped through a random hole outside of a public restaurant. This was much more convenient and was much easier to explain to questioning people. The door opened and she stepped out as a tall GJ agent was standing there in uniform, "Miss Possible, I'm Agent Mallard. We've been expecting you."

"Course. Lead the way." She answered breezily, "Just another infiltration, isn't it?"

Agent Mallard curled his lips as if he didn't find it funny, then lead her towards the briefing room. Once inside Kim took the seat she was directed to. She glanced at her arm, left bare as she was in her mission outfit in anticipation of moving into the field soon. The doors shut as Mallard left the room, leaving her alone in the darkly lit room. She tapped her fingers idly as she waited for a few minutes when the doors finally opened again.

Doctor Director entered and was followed by a Caucasian man with matted brown hair and an almost half-drunken look to his face, which was smooth and made her think of a sad, clean-shaven English school boy. He was wearing different armor than most GJ or PBD agents, however. It was a full suit of flexible Kevlar with a grey and white camouflage pattern, an H-shaped strap of what looked like was a combat vest for holding grenades or ammunition was over it and on his back mounted to one of the overall straps looping back was either a GJA-15 _Vindicator_ or a GJA-19 _Lovemaker_, a service pistol was on his hips. His gloves had a small, barely notable cyan touch which Kim concluded to be the emitters for electro-gauntlets. He smiled at her as he saw her and sat down next to her as Doctor Director sat on the other side. The man offered his hand,

"I'm Operative Atton Williams, a GJ _Specter_ of lieutenant's rank. Pleasure and an honor to meet you face to face, we _Specter_ operatives probably wouldn't exist if not for your work."

"Really?" Kim asked interestedly as she shook his hand, what little she gathered of the _Specter_ program was they actually lived up to their reputation, "I don't recall that, but if you are what I think you are, then I'm glad GJ started it."

"Indeed," Doctor Director said, "He and his fellow operatives have been a great, if silent, boon to us in the fight against evil. It was your skill during Operation Green Day and the aftermath of the Ron Factor that prompted us to take a look at our agents and showed a problem that has taken a while to rectify."

"Glad to be of help. So, what's the sitch?"

"A few things. First of which, consider this an official reprimanding over the 'incident' yesterday." She explained, a thin humorless smile forming on her lips, "The Security Council wasn't exactly happy that we seem to be more effective against each other than WEE or villains, but they're glad we acted quickly against a potential threat."

"Yeah," Kim awkwardly answered as she put a hand to the back of her neck, "That wasn't the best move I could of made, was it?"

"No it was not, but it was not the worst and the research should not be adversely effected by your efforts, so no harm has been done and no true culpability lies in your hands. Now, onto the next matter: You are aware of the Henchlympics and have been briefed on such?"

"Yes, Wade filled me in on the details before I got here. Is there anything else I should know?"

"Only that we have confirmed that you should be cautious with your cover. We have noted that Senior Senior Junior is going to the Henchlympics and is bringing his girlfriend Bonnie Rockwaller along. Given the animosity between you two, I want you to be responsible during the operation and to not take advantage of being undercover as a random henchwoman to gain revenge."

Kim shrugged, "I'd be more worried about her recognizing me, but alright, I'll try to stay away from her."

"Excellent. Now, the idea is that you will be in the Second-in-Villainy weight class, so you will be in some of the fiercer competition with competent villainous sidekicks similar to Shego or WEE's Agent Alpha."

"Not a problem, I can beat them reliably."

"I know you can, but you have _not_ confronted Alpha before, so be alert. Once you finish your events, you need to disappear into the compound and upload a GJ mole into Hench's systems." She took a grimmer tone at this point, "He has been acting loose with his leash lately, and while he's managed to keep it within a sense of legality enough for his elite lawyers to hash down any charges, we need to know just what he has in there and if we need to act. The Mass Neural Compliance Ray is close, but the laws unfortunately tend not to be specific in the dealing of supervillains' toys. Such cases rarely make it to court. The more we know, the better an idea we will have how and what we need to hit in his facilities. Even better would be his dealings list, if you can acquire it."

"No big. What else should I grab while I'm there?" Kim asked, not seeing any real problems at this point that she couldn't beat.

"You should consider pocketing one of Hench's hench-enhancements like his molecular muscle enhancers for GJ research as we can always use more samples of mad science." At this, Dr. Director smirked, "But do _not_ try to confiscate anything you can't easily escape with or carry generally unnoticed as Hench may realize such before you can complete the exfiltration phase."

Kim nodded, then glanced at Williams (who had been silent the whole time) and asked, "I take it operative Williams here is supporting this?"

"Negative, I'm not going to be on the mission other than to provide some tactical advice before heading out, though that's not the primary reason I am here. Doctor Director, is there anything else of the infiltration that Miss Possible has not been briefed on?"

"Negative, Lieutenant." At this, Doctor Director turned to her again, "Now then. Kimberly, you have served the cause of freedom with distinction despite being underage for most of your career in doing so. Global Justice feels that it is appropriate now that you've both graduated and turned eighteen that you be extended the offer of joining the organization properly. We hope to have you maintaining a role similar to the one you are used to within the organization."

Kim held her lips in a curled slant as she looked at the older woman. It was true, Kim was interested in joining Global Justice, but she didn't think that she'd fit in with the agents or the sometimes ineffective bureaucratic nature it had. A big example was with _The Ron Factor_ project they had undertaken with what Kim thought was little to no reason. She was interested in being in the field, not babysitting time-wasting research into something they probably couldn't harness anyways. _Besides_, she reminded herself, _I haven't even started college yet._ She looked at Doctor Director in the eyes, keeping her expression professionally blank as she answered; "I'm sorry, Doctor Director, but I'm not currently willing to accept this offer yet. I don't think I meet the qualifications necessary given I haven't started college."

Then Williams chimed in, which was a surprise to her as normally an agent would ask for permission from Doctor Director first, "Miss Possible, while we agree you should be able to finish your college courses, is a part-time job or even beginning _Specter_ training a bad idea?"

"It's not," Kim answered, "But I don't think it's the right time to join Global Justice."

"You're needed in the field, Miss Possible," Doctor Director cut in, "Your skills could turn the tide of hundreds of operations and you could very well be the death blow to evil across the globe. If there was an individual destiny for every person, that one would match you like a glove."

Kim didn't miss the coincidental connection between this recruitment pitch and what she _didn't_ report to GJ. Still, she had made up her mind, "I know. If you need me, you know that all you have to do is call me, but I don't think it's the proper time to become a member of Global Justice."

"What is the real reason, Kimberly?" Doctor Director asked with narrowed eyes, "I've seen it before, you think our agents aren't capable and that we're incompetent as a whole."

"Wait, what?" Kim sputtered in surprise. It was true, she _did_ have those feelings, but she never enunciated them to any GJ agent. "I never said that…"

"We've overheard conversations. Will Du is something of a joke to you, isn't he? A laughingstock." Director countered, "You see him as our best agent, which he _is_, but you forget that we have different groups. Global Justice is not as incompetent as you seem to think it is. If we were, why would the _Specter_ program have been created and been so effective?"

"Wait, so that's why he's here and not on whatever mission you had him doing," Kim stated confrontationally as she gestured to Williams, "you want to show me that Global Justice has elites far better than Will Du to try and convince me to join GJ before I personally want to."

"Not quite," Williams answered, gently pushing Kim's hand out of his face, "I wanted to speak to you in person while I had the chance. I figured that you'd make a fine _Specter_. We're pretty much your style: we go in, tackle the bad guys, blow up their doomsday device of the week, then go home happy. Methods differ, sure, but we're similar and have top-of-the-line training. Up here is where you would likely go if you joined, because you're _just that good_."

Kim smiled a moment at the compliment before frowning, "Maybe, but I've given my answer. I haven't blown Global Justice off when you called and I've given you benefit of the doubt, now I'm asking you to do the same with me. I can't promise that I'll join Global Justice, but don't think that just because I'm moving onto college that I'll forget about it. It's a move that both Ron and I should discuss together, and he's in Japan right now."

Williams nodded briefly, as if he found it to be fair enough. Doctor Director simply nodded once and then said, "Very well. Let's not speak of it again until a far later date. The offer shall remain, however, should you change your mind."

"Of course, Doctor Director. I'll see you at four- I mean, 1600 hours." Kim was glad she caught the slip; military time was always annoying to convert even if she had used it often enough. With a nod to both, she got up and left, leaving the base the way she came.

XX

XX

Doctor Director sighed as they watched Kim leave the front company used for the tube in the main command room. "You know I only made the pitch to keep some PBD officers pacified, Operative Williams. But I do want her to join Global Justice; she would be useful to us."

"Yes ma'am."

"Speak freely; I want to know how you think that went."

"Well enough, I think. She hasn't outright rejected Global Justice's offer and personally I think it's much better for us that she go through college first. Still, isn't it the common opinion of Global Justice members that she remain as a freelancer and just tie her closer to Global Justice? That freelancer status can be useful in getting someone we can count on who isn't exactly official GJ."

"That is correct, but I fail to see why that means she cannot be a _Specter_ operative in training if nothing else. Many of your comrades tend to operate solo or in personally put together teams anyways," she answered with a thin smile, "Besides, with her record being as it is, having _Kim Possible_ as a GJ agent would send our reputation soaring. She'd be the perfect poster girl and given the steadily more overt nature of ourselves and Power Busters Division, we should make such preparations for such."

"Maybe, but by nature _Specter_ operatives tend to run under the radar, you have supers like Shieldbash for publicity. Or do you just want Possible to be a _Specter_ trained operative of Global Justice and otherwise operative freelance? Either way, she would pretty much be our first female _Specter_ operative."

_This_ was exactly why she had chosen Williams to be the representative of GJ's _Specter_ program; he was a fairly level-headed man who could see multiple sides of an argument and was an independent thinker, though he was somewhat high strung. Still, he did come dangerously close to insubordination sometimes, but she felt that a little independence was not a bad thing so long as the person could check such. Nodding, she finally said, "Then finish your preparations to go to Greenland, Operative. Dismissed." The _Specter_ left to do so and prepare for the next stage of his pursuit of stolen alien technology salvaged from the alien attack. "Com, bring up the report on the situation in southern Brazil, I want to see what Agent Vargas is making such a ruckus over."

"Yes ma'am!"

XX

**Load Residence**

**Middleton, Colorado**

"So what'd GJ want?" Wade asked as he leaned back in his chair as he turned towards Kim, who had walked in.

"Brief overview of the mission and a recruitment pitch." Kim answered with a slight smirk, shaking her head. "Wanted me to join and become one of their new _Specter_ operatives. I told them that now wasn't the time."

Wade chuckled as he always found Global Justice's efforts to be interesting. Unlike Kim, he knew that GJ was actually onto something when they were looking into Ron, but he did agree with Kim in that they needed a serious boost in the competence department. He was actually a bit uncertain himself as Kim's skills were too good to waste if Doctor Director lost focus on priorities. He kept that to himself, however, as he answered. "Hey, when it's time, it's time. Anyways, I've been doing some digging on that prophecy stuff."

"And?"

"All I could find was a few theories as to why magic had been seen in some places but not others. Most of it connected to the Judeo-Christian tradition, you know, being the Devil and God and 'suffer not a witch to live', but one Doctor Jackson had something that didn't follow it."

"I'm all ears."

Wade nodded, turning to bring it up as Kim leaned over his shoulders. On his screen appeared a mural image of a ghost-like human of indeterminate ethnicity with energy rippling off of him. "This was extracted from an archeological dig in Central Africa. A similar one was discovered in Australia by his team when they investigated there for something else, another in Yemen, and another was found by a colleague of his another Japan near;" he paused, smiling widely, "Guess where?"

"Yamanouchi." Kim finished for him, nodding, "That explains why Ron would be able to find something on the prophecy. Let me guess, the stories discovered are similar?"

"Can't answer that, but he theorizes that if these things are real magically-based creatures, they probably lent themselves into human myth _somehow_. So angels might of just been space elves with jetpacks or genies were just protoss archons."

Kim frowned, "Protoss archon? What's that?"

Wade paused a moment as he remembered that Kim's knowledge of the geek and gaming world was rudimentary at _best_. "Oh, sorry Kim. Geek reference. Basically think an energy being with power overwhelming."

"Right." she answered slowly with a hint of disbelief, "So, anything else on what they actually are?"

"Nothing except that they are often shown with what seem to be rune circles. Remember Kim, Doctor Jackson is an archeologist who was a friend of our simian maniac Monkey Fist, so he's not the most reliable source," a statement which Wade felt was an understatement. He had hesitated to give her any of this information given that note, but he had a funny feeling it was troubling her. "But it's a place to start at least. If I can direct Ron somehow to put his historical studies in Yamanouchi to the right things, I can probably narrow it down. I mean, Yamanouchi actually _is_ a store of magical knowledge, Jackson doesn't have that access."

"A long chat with Sensei wouldn't be a bad idea either if we get the time." Kim stated, "What's the name for these things?"

"The closest they could find in the ruins they dug would be 'djinn', the plural form in Arabic for 'genie'. The pictures of the inscriptions had a similar sigil to the ones worn by the guys who tried to break into the Tri-City Museum, so it's likely their name for it. You obviously know Aladdin and even the actual Arabian Nights version. So to use the example I gave above I'm guessing that if these 'djinn', they could just be some odd energy beings those 'Conclave' guys summoned with the _Liber Arcessere_." He shook his head; the entire theory of Kim having some magic bloodline was _absurd,_ he couldn't see how anyone, spellcaster or mad scientist, could buy into such. _I mean, hardware can't even be compatible,_ he thought in disbelief. "Honestly, I think it's safe to say that prophecy stuff was just some chick getting high on natural gases like the Romans did for _their_ so-called prophecy things, but if I find any more on this, I'll let you know."

"Thanks Wade. So, what's the real sitch here?"

"You remember that you needed a suit of Hench's style for the infiltration? Well, I managed to acquire one. It came in earlier."

"Thanks Wade!" Kim said as he pulled it out from under his desk. She took it and held it in front of her to gauge size before frowning, "How'd you get it?"

Wade smiled wickedly, "I've been a fake villain for a bit, establishing a little nasty rep on an alias in HenchCo as a hacker. Blew a few minor GJ uplinks with Doc Director's permission to give it some credence with some nasty viruses and hacks. Didn't think I'd be able to, but I found a guy who'd be willing to get me the suit in exchange for a repair of his iPod. Chip's disabled, don't worry, I'll reactivate it when it's time."

Kim looked at him quizzically, tilting her head slightly as she held the purple jumpsuit. "Wade, that's," her mouth hung open for a moment as she tried to find the right word as she checked the tag to make sure it was her size, "odd."

"Nah, just me keeping a little mole in for information. Speaking of that, I modified the headgear so I can call you and you can answer, just in case. Be careful when answering though, it's much easier to track you talking than vice versa. GJ's linking me into their mission control, so don't worry about us not being able to figure out how things are going."

"Spankin' Wade, anything else?"

"Just this: there's a sim of fighting _you_ in the competition. I'd suggest only putting up a good enough fight to be seen superior and then throwing it unless there's a competitor who's sweeping the board. Nothing will give you away quicker than a semi-random henchwoman with ex-military training and able to match villainous sidekicks being able to beat Kim freaking Possible before she even fought her _once_ in real life."

"Well, I haven't had a real mirror match before, but it'll probably be like fighting Shego. Want me to get a copy of the sim for you?"

Wade smiled; the prospect of getting the exact files that the villains had on Kim would be _perfect_ to help understand how much they actually knew of her. "Sure! That'd be great if you can get it."

"I'll see what I can do. I take it that this grand mass means the team GJ has just needs to keep the other weights from doing too well?"

"Yup; long as they can keep henchmen in other categories from doing too good, we should be set. The main threat I'm guessing is going to be Dementor, but Gemini's revitalization of his organization may also prove a problem."

"Who's Dementor's sidekick for this?" Kim asked. Wade frowned, then pulled up the files, frowning. Dementor _didn't_ have one according to the GJ files, but he did have access to tough henchmen, some of which could have superpowers.

"Probably one of his henchmen, but just keep a lookout, he may get a grand mass in the other areas."

"Drakken involved?"

"Far as I can tell, no." And Wade was glad for that; Dementor and Gemini would be bad enough, Hench's goons without experience wouldn't last in the competitions, so it wouldn't be too much of a problem as long as they beat those two. But adding Shego to the mix would easily nullify Kim's edge in getting a grand mass if they had to. Worse, Shego would be most apt at spotting Kim as her disguise was paper-thin in Wade's opinion, but it was the best they could get on short notice. "You make preparations to be out yet?"

"Just need to confirm with the 'rents, but then I'll be ready. How am I getting there?"

Wade smiled as he brought up the itinerary, "You'll be put on a plane, your cover includes that you're coming in from visiting family in Go City. You're going as yourself for that, but once off you'll switch into the Hench gear and make your way to the main HenchCo facility. Once there, mingle in with the henchmen and get to room F-16, that's where the GJ agents are going to be. Once that happens, it's the mission as planned and radio silence until you finish your events." Wade hoped she didn't fail any of the acting as he was honestly worried about such given that she never could truly get into a different persona.

Kim nodded, "See you tomorrow then, Wade." He nodded back and she left, leaving Wade to his work. He noticed a message from Global Justice on his screen asking for another order of sonic mines and a note of payment verification for the previous set. He frowned; _I really should just shoot them the schematics for these, someone in GJ is using quite a few. Not too hard to make anyways…_

XX

**6:50 PM Pacific Time**

**HenchCo Facility**

**Northshore, Washington State**

Jack Hench smiled as he looked over the center of the compound, which had been converted into the competition field, tents set up around for the visiting villains. "Mister de Minion, how're the teams?"

"All set; they're in the dining hall now and the last flight from Go City arrived in Northsore two hours ago, so they're all here."

"Good, good, I'll speak to them. Business is good this quarter, so I think I'll enjoy watching some of the villainous prosperity be displayed."

XX

Kim leaned in closer as she sat wearing one of the HenchCo uniforms, her red hair in a ponytail and she wore the usual HenchCo goggles over her eyes, making her look like just another henchmen. Given that a number of the female henchmen did similar, a few of them red heads like her, she was hardly out of place. She glanced to her left at the thin but talented Agent Duquette, the main GJ agent in the operation. She hadn't met him before, but she was finding him to be a reasonable man. "So, anything on when we're eating?"

Duquette chuckled, "Soon, hopefully." He glanced up as Jack Hench walked in. Kim looked at him as everyone else did as the hench-dealer stood at the podium.

"_Welcome one and all to the eighteenth annual Henchlympics!"_ Hench began warmly as he tapped the microphone, "_Now, I'm sure you're all eager to get some food, but first, a few things of note. First of all, we're pleased to announce that all the weight classes are filled, so you'll have plenty of competition!"_

Everyone clapped slowly. Kim glanced towards the WEE team, who looked worried as they glanced around. Agent Alpha was slowly clapping. Alpha was a blond woman with a well-toned muscle who looked hard as stone and ready to kill someone. _And if my cover's blown, that'll mean me._ Kim thought as Hench continued regardless, _"Now then, next is a reminder to all teams: Stay on the competition grounds and your rooms during your stay here, we need to keep an eye on you. That pesky cheerleader is likely trying to ruin out livelihoods, as usual. Nothing ruins a good competition liking getting your ass handed to you by a pubescent cheerleader."_

Everyone laughed, but Kim was actually laughing for real, finding it hilarious that she was sitting there even as she was mentioned in warning, all oblivious to the fact. Duquette simply smirked and the other GJ agents played along. No one noticed as Hench continued; _"One last thing, whoever gets the grand mass gets the Mass Neural Compliance Ray for their villain. Or, if you're a HenchCo team, for me. But don't worry, I appreciate savings."_ He paused a moment, then asked: "_What? I got a degree in law. That's how I've been able to flaunt it."_

Kim glanced at Duquette, who shook his head. Hench announced everyone could go get food and stepped down. Getting up Kim asked, "So Harry" (Duquette's cover name), "What're you getting?"  
"I dunno Sarah." he answered using her cover name, "I'm probably going for something light, maybe some chicken; don't want to put too much on before tomorrow, eh?" he responded as they got to the end of the line and grabbed trays. "Just hope he isn't serving the damn pasta again; that stuff's horrid."

"Yeah. Salad probably. Have to take on those ego cases who call themselves sidekicks."

"Glad you joined us; going to be great seeing you in action."

XX

**The Next Day**

**July 26th 2007**

**11:30 AM**

**Henchlympics Games**

Kim nodded as she was in the first challenge; a jetpack obstacle course. She was next up as she heard de Minion's commentary: _"Ouch, that had to hurt like an Alpha. She swerves around and smashes open the crate, nice use of her powers there shattering the crate she missed… and she flies through the last ring! Final time, one minute ten seconds!"_

Kim inhaled, readying herself for the first challenge. It was a flight course: she had to fly by and through a set of rings and arches as well as smashing open several crates that were being replaced now. She had a minute and a half at most to do it, but the challenge was not going to be too difficult. It was a really straightforward course, arches then crates mixed with the rings. The rings were holographic, which would keep her from smashing into them, but everything else was solid (but easily collapsible).

"_Next person. Ready. Set. GO!"_

Kim kicked the jetpack on and launched forward, easily transitioning from standing to flight into a canyon-like space. The first three arches were straightforward and following the path, two walls climbing up steadily to the side to box her in and keep her on course. The next two arches were on a steel bar, one below, one above. Kim flew through the lower one first before arching her back to turn around, mildly burning her ass with the exhaust as she went through the second arch and came out below, soaring forward. With only three arches left in the course, she continued forward as the blue-matted ground gave way to a large artificial lake, platforms rising from it. She sped through another arch, catching a glimpse of one of HenchCo's camera drones as the last two arches were following towards the (theoretical) path that she would take. As Kim flew through the last two, she took a sharp turn to the right instead of going forward in the bowl-like arena of the final part. She spun as she smashed through the first crate and pulled towards the ring a bit to the outside before going in again. She repeated it for three crates and two rings before pulling to a straight line crossing towards where the path she would of taken if she followed the normal path, but in reverse. The sharp left turn caused her to grunt as the G-forces took hold and she crashed through the first crate and followed through, knocking out each one.

As she got towards the end of the straight line she pulled to the right again and continued. As she followed the bowl-like arena, she soared up slightly before coming down to hit the crates. As she hit the last one, she pulled up sharply to fly up through one of the rings and sped towards the last ring in the air, over where she had been when she made the sharp turn left. She pushed all the spare fuel she could into the jetpack and sped through it, pulling up afterwards as her earpiece buzzed: _"One minute, two seconds."_

"Yes!" she cheered as she glided back to the start and landed. This win would give her team a good headway in keeping grand mass away from anyone. She pulled the jetpack off and handed it to the attendant, who hung it up in the 'to-be-refueled' rack. She shook her head to let out her hair as she took her helmet off and walked to the side, giving Agent Alpha a smirk, a character trait that was part of her cover, but Kim couldn't help it even if it wasn't.

"_Fine performance, fine performance! Next, Lucent from Professor Dementor!"_ Kim leaned to the side and watched the events unfold. As she did, she glanced towards the tents where villains were relaxing. She saw Dementor and Gemini growling at each other as Dementor's super henchman flew through the course. De Minion's commentary told Kim that he was doing well, but not as well as her.

"Hey, Sarah!" said one of Hench's younger henchmen, "You and me, get some drinks?"

Kim looked at him and said "No." flatly, dismissing him like a gnat. Given that he wasn't in her league (in reality and in cover), this was the response she needed. _Feels good doing that,_ she mused briefly, starting to understand Bonnie's desire to keep trying to put her down.

XX

Dementor laughed, "Hah, in your face, Wii-player! You're IN THIRD!" He was enjoying this, but he was irritated that this new henchwoman was beating his team. He didn't know who the heck she was, but if she kept it up, he'd have to add her to his payroll and get her the gene enhancements required to be one of his henchmen.

"Shut it, Dementor, it's only the first event. Wait until the other weight classes kick in." Gemini answered with a growl. Dementor drank his cocoa with amusement as he watched the other competitors try and fail, de Minion's commentary amusing as always. It _almost_ made it worth having to go through him to talk to Hench.

"Oh look, it is ze Junior," he commented as he saw Senior Senior Junior and his new girlfriend sit at another table. "Great, they'll be announcing ze wedding ANY! DAY! NOW!"

"Why he would actually go for such a shallow whore I shall never understand, but that is why he is no true villain." Gemini answered with a smirk, "Of that at least we agree. Though I'm still going to win."

"Hah, just wait! My superior henchmen shall be more zhan capable of wiping the floors with your CANNON FODDER."

"Your henchmen still can't beat a cheerleader, so shut up and talk to the hand." Gemini emphasized the point by having his finger-rockets prime for a moment before shutting them down and putting his cybernetic hand back onto the table. Neither of them mentioned the fact that they had been unable to either.

XX

Kim leaned at the table, watching the stat board. Her team was doing well: they weren't winning by a grand mass yet, but they had managed to keep fairly well ahead except in the areas of low competence, 'basic bad' and the like where Gemini's henchmen swept it clean. However, Dementor's henchmen had won a few key victories in higher ranks, but they had an edge on the other teams.

"Well, we're winning," Duquette said, "But you know how these things go for us henchies."

Kim nodded back, "Yeah, they're going to probably wake up about now." _Translation; we can't do too good, we need to hold it back a bit or we might raise some flags._ She thought to herself.

"I know, Sarah. That's how things probably go around here. Well, you have the next competition soon, good luck."

"Thanks, you too."

XX

"Interesting turn of events, de Minion," Hench said as he looked at the scoreboard from his office, "You rarely see one of our teams in the lead so soon. Keep an eye on them, if they do well I may very well may have a real good team to put together."

"Yes sir. Looking for ones to keep Gemini a customer?"

"Nah, WEE's just a James Bond bad guy knockoff and these henchmen would be too good to waste on his rapid disposal. I'm thinking our valued customer Dementor. They'd appreciate the gene mods and Dementor knows what he's doing."

"Very true, he's in second so it may become irony."

"Well, let's not count the chickens. You ready for the next event?"

"Yes sir, but I think the real kicker for the team is Sarah; she won the jetpack flight, so we may have a good sidekick who's looking for a real villain."

"Yes, finding the right sidekick for any villain is always a great cash getter… now who would want one? Hmmm," he muttered as he flipped his folders open, "A lot of them, really; Junior, Doc Quantum, heck, maybe I could even convince that moralistic Venuchi to take her on."

"What about Moss?"

"Gill? Nah, I don't think anyone would work for him, he'd pretty much require them to get mutated with his muck, and that's costly to remove, if it even _can_ be removed. Keep an eye on her, we may have found a really good recruit." He closed the folders, _Now I just have to figure out when we actually picked her up, I don't remember that…_

He frowned again as he pulled the folder of the team members out again, looking at them more closely and sighing.

XX

**12:12 PM**

**Henchlympics Games**

Kim glanced to the left and right at the others. This was a foot obstacle course where they were going in heats of three. It was not going to be a huge challenge as she ran simulations of these kinds of things regularly, but she'd have to watch time as if she did too well someone may suspect her actual identity. She listened as de Minion shouted "Ready!"

"Set!"

A pistol shot, and they were off. Kim sprinted, but kept just behind the others and leapt forward over the first hurdle. She reached a stone wall and climbed up the rope quickly, the others taking point. Leaping over the wall to the ground, she landed on her feet instead of rolling like she normally would as to avoid getting ahead. She ran after the others and jumped over the hurdles and crawled under the steel crates wired together so that they couldn't be leapt over.

"Hurry up, whore!" Agent Alpha taunted, "What are you, a dumb cheerleader?"

That incensed Kim, she hated the stereotype of the dumb cheerleader and it had always been a pain proving it wrong when she started her heroics, occasionally afterwards. She leapt after Alpha, picking up the pace. She wasn't going to let this person win, not while she was being insulted.

She sprung forward with a second wind, leaping up at the next stone wall and rock climbing quickly, catching up as Alpha leapt off the wall. Kim landed with a roll this time.

"Oooooh," Alpha taunted, "Getting touchy. Come on, you woman enough to beat me?"

"Why don't you say that to my face?" Kim responded as she flipped over the next obstacle and caught up. Alpha looked shocked as she not only caught up but leapt past. Kim kept sprinting, a handspring carrying her forward as she soared over a large, rough wall and came down the other side and taking a clear first. She kept it up, gaining distance from the others rapidly. She leapt over and ducked under the obstacles and dodged side-to-side as round padded cylinders shot up to try and impede her progress. Kim skidded to a halt as she leapt to the side and kicked Alpha in the gut, knocking her away. "Yeah, I think I'm woman enough!" Kim sprinted back to her position and leapt up, grabbing the rope of the final wall as Lucent climbed over. She landed with a roll and sprinted after as Lucent shot a pair of energy bolts towards her. Because Kim had impeded another contestant, the others were now free to nail her to the wall if they could. _Bring it._ She thought as she jumped over it as they sprinted to the finish line.

"TIE!" shouted the henchman at the end as Kim and Lucent crossed simultaneously. Kim inhaled and looked at Lucent, then towards Alpha as she came in behind them, scowling.

Kim exhaled rapidly as she glanced left and right, her heart beating as she realized she may of just blown her cover if the look Duquette was giving her told anything as the next heat got ready to go.

XX

Hench frowned as he watched the replay during the lunch break. "She started off slow then suddenly accelerated. Interesting."

"Yes sir, it was a great surprise, but she only tied with Lucent, and those two held the best time. If she went full out the whole time, she would have won that race, or maybe even if she didn't just hit Agent Alpha and kept going." De Minion answered, "We also verified that the team that's doing so well is actually part of the Global Justice undercover operatives, but we have nothing on this 'Sarah'. With luck, she just chose the team at random."

"Have our hackers see if they can't get profiles of all GJ agents. I'd like to know which one is a red head like 'Sarah' there, if she really is a GJ agent."

"Yes sir. If she's not?"

"Then we alert her to the fact, but the coincidence here is a bit heavy if she isn't."

XX

**12:34**

"Well Sarah," Duquette said with a smile as he sipped his water across from Kim, "Not bad. Not bad at all."

"You didn't too half bad either Harry." Kim answered. The score was now leaning heavily towards Dementor because his henchmen had dominated their two leagues, but Gemini was following as his agents conquered the lowest league thoroughly. Kim's tie had kept them in enough to stop Dementor from maintaining grand mass, however. Thanks to this, Dementor was in the lead with the GJ team behind him and WEE following, but Dementor was ahead by several points. With a few more to the ratio, he'd have grand mass and the Mass Neural Compliance Ray. They couldn't allow that so would have to step it up against him.

"Yeah, but I gotta admit, it was real interesting seeing you pull that second wind, eh?" Kim winced as he said that, regretting the fact she let the insults get under her skin. "Keep it consistent, huh? Mighta won it if you did."

_Translation; don't do that again._ Kim thought grimly, knowing that if she pulled that off too many times, Hench would catch on. She had to play it cool to avoid giving herself away. "What's the next event set?" she asked.

"Sparring. Hand to hand, powers, the works. You're going in solo by elimination. You, WEE, Dementor, and the other competent guys. I think that 'Mathter' freak also has a sidekick in there, but he wasn't in your race heat."

Kim nodded, "Should be interesting then. So, how do you think I'll do?" _In other words, go all out or not._

"Depends on who you're up against; if you're facing the WEE lady, I'm not sure how you'll do, but I think you can beat that Lucent fellow straight." Duquette answered. "Anyone else you can probably smoke easily, chances are you won't get to them in the final though."

"Well, let's hope I don't fight the WEE chick then. Hate to get my ass handed to me by one of those supers."

"Lucent's a super too ya'know. Well, least these aren't to the death; I've heard the WEE did it nasty to some GJ sods."

XX

**1:00 PM**

**Henchlympics 1v1**

Kim blew a hair bang out of her hair as she faced her opponent, one of Hench's goons. He was a large man, but he wouldn't be a threat to her. She glanced to the referee. The rules were pretty simple; don't kill the other person and subdue them until they either submit or can't provide any offense, usually meaning knocked out. The referee nodded to both of them and blew his whistle, "Contestants at the ready?" They were. "Three!"

"TWO!"

"ONE!"

"GO!"

Kim's opponent charged her and she stepped to the side, causing him to hit the ropes and knock himself back. She leapt into the air and came down with an extended foot, kicking him in the face. He was knocked over and to the ground. He rolled to the side and swung punches which Kim dodged easily. He was decent, but she was _much_ better. _Just glad GJ didn't make me play down to these guys's level, I hate losing_. She thought as she hit him with a pair of swift punches to the gut. He coughed roughly from the hit as she followed up, flipping him over with a judo throw. She grunted under the weight as he hit the ropes.

He bounced off and landed on his back. Kim leapt on top of him and held her arm over his throat. He looked at her, grunting. "Shit." He said as he realized he was down. _Of course, he's big enough to shove me off,_ she thought as he gave up, giving her the win and moving her on to the next fight.

Lucent and Agent Alpha both won their fights against unknown HenchCo henchmen and were to duel each other next for third place, Kim would be dueling the Mather's sidekick, 'Exponent'.

XX

"Buahahah! See, girlie, my variable calculations have been perfect!"

"Oh shut up mister math freak," Bonnie sarcastically commented at the standing villain, "Go bug someone else."

"Yes, leave us alone." Junior added, a hand sliding down to his personalized plasma pistol. "I'd hate to get my lotion polluted with your dirty skin."

The Mathter leapt back at the threat and growled, "Just watch as the _Exponent_ deletes that stupid little Sarah."

Bonnie shook her head as he walked away. This kookoo convention was interesting, but she wanted to see the sim of Kim getting her irritating self thrashed by someone. That was what she came for, some vindication against her high school nemesis. She glanced at the Spaniard that Junior was hiring as he sat down with a plate of tortia chips. "Senior, Senorita," he said with a nod of the head. He looked like an old can to her with his graying hair and an eye-patch, but she kept it to herself. For now. "So, you still keeping to your bet that Alpha's going to win?"

"Yes," Junior answered. "You still thinking that Sarah lady is going to win?"

"She pulled out from behind in the obstacle race; I think she's able to win."

Bonnie shrugged, "Well, Sarah's on now boys."

They turned to watch the second round fight. It was the Sarah woman against the Mathter's sidekick.

Bonnie frowned as the Sarah woman leapt around like another red head she knew. She dodged Exponent's attacks and hit back just as hard. Although he was withstanding it, it was clear that Sarah had the advantage. Then something happened; Sarah took a hit to the gut and grunted as she flew into the ropes. _"That's gotta hurt!"_ the commentator laughed.

Sarah responded by leaping over his follow-up charge and kicking him in the back as she came down, knocking him forward. He whirled around and swung his fist, but Sarah blocked it with both her hands and pushed it down as she leapt up with a split. She tried to place the style; it seemed eerily familiar to her. It was like she had seen it every day for a while now.

The fight ended brutally after another minute. Sarah struck Exponent in the family jewels before flipping him over and crashing him down into the floor, knocking him out cold.

"_**BRACKETS!"**_ she heard someone shout and smirked; the math freak had got his just desserts.

"_I pity the math geek, honestly I do."_ The commentator said, _"Sarah wins and moves onto the final. Next match up, Agent Alpha versus Lucent."_

Bonnie watched Sarah as she talked with one of the other henchmen in her team and the two walked away. As they walked by Dementor's table nearby, she heard Sarah say; "_No big, it's not like he's a real villain."_ The voice sounded _very_ familiar to her, like it belonged to an arch enemy. She shook her head as she turned her attention back to her hunk.

XX

Kim wiped the sweat off with a towel as she sat down in the waiting area. The fight had been fairly rough with Exponent, but she had come out ahead. Now she had to see if she would have to throw the next fight and hope she wasn't too wounded, or win it as usual. "So, who you think it's better to win?"

"I'd say Lucent, but Alpha being in second wouldn't be a big disappointment."

_In other words, better to fight Lucent and win, but if I need to lose to Alpha, I can._ She glanced down and turned on the score function, checking for their team, Dementor's, and Gemini's. Kim gulped when she noticed that if Dementor got second, he'd be close to the grand mass. Too close with the other leagues in question. Alpha had to win against Lucent, but after that, Kim realized she'd have to _lose_ to avoid blowing her cover. She wondered if she really _could_ lose; it wasn't in her. She was someone who fought through to the end and either came out on top or was defeated for the next round. _Can I really throw the fight? Do I have it in me to admit defeat?_

To Kim's horror, Agent Alpha of the World Wide Evil Empire managed to beat Lucent, but both were injured and the final between herself and Alpha would be delayed. _Just what I wanted,_ she thought bitterly, _more time to realize I may have to lose even if I can win..._

Duquette leaned in and whispered, "Look, it's going to be rough, but we gotta do what we gotta do."

In other words it'd be humiliating, but if she had to lose, she had to as if the team won it would be extremely suspicious. Kim was carrying the big points for the team.

XX

**Hench's Office**

Jack Hench frowned, "This competition is becoming interesting. This 'Sarah' is doing well, much better than I would have expected."

"Yes sir. What do you think; see if we can get her services hired out?" Erik asked.

"Ah yes, sidekick level villains are always in big bucks. But no, if she's part of the GJ infiltration team, I think it's safe to say she's more than she seems to be. What's the situation with Agent Alpha?"

"We've confirmed that she took a hit of _rima_ prior to the fight with Lucent. That's a violation of the rules despite it being her power source as the rules state that any such boosts must be taken prior to 11:00 AM on the day of the Henchlympics."

"Let it slide for now," Hench said as his business mind swirled with the possibilities of what they were seeing, "Let her fight this Sarah, I want to see who wins. I have a funny feeling that Sarah will win despite lacking powers… and she won't throw the fight, she knows that after what happened during the obstacle course Alpha won't show any mercy." He smiled, "If she is a GJ agent, she'll have to choose between risking her cover or getting beaten into a pulp. And if this 'Sarah' _is_ a GJ agent, she _will_ have heard of what Alpha has done to their agents before and will know just what levels of pain to expect."

"Sir, Dementor will raise hell over this if he discovers it."

"Call Dementor up, I'll speak to him personally. We'll disqualify Alpha after and give Lucent second if this 'Sarah' wins."

XX

**Somewhere near the North Pole**

**Greenland**

Shego knew it would be cold, but even bundled up as she was it was still freezing. _Remind me to get something warmer next time_, she decided as she checked the map for the arsenal again. She wasn't sure what was inside, but if it was what the hint said it was, Drakken would be able to use it. She glanced towards the landmark that was supposed to be there and drove by the wreckage of the 'escape pod' from _Drak-Force One_, Drakken's space station from a few Christmases ago. It was actually a garbage container, but it _had_ to be an impact-resistant container. She shook her head as she drove the snowmobile through the thick snow; she couldn't naturally see too far ahead, but thanks to a set of goggles Drakken had made for her she was able to. _Gotta check how these things work, knowing him..._

The scanner on the snowmobile suddenly beeped and she frowned, hitting the red dot it detected, bringing up an energy profile. _That's one of Dementor's halftracks, _she realized as she recognized the configuration of the energy signatures. She frowned a moment as Dementor was while always annoying, but his equipment that he issued to his henchmen was always of decent quality. _Alright; let's see,_ she thought as she tried to remember the specs that Drakken had figured out for the half-tracks as she turned the snowmobile towards the signatures, _It has a main dual plasma chain gun emplacement on the top, meaning getting onto the roof to start working on breaching the armor is probably going to shred me into moldy Wisconsin Swiss, but..._ she smiled as she figured out her entry plan out, going over a hill-like ramp and the engine howling as she came back down to the snow bank below with a thud, driving forward easily. She skidded to a halt as she came up onto a ridge near the half-track, and smiled as she realized just how she'd get inside.

Dismounting the snowmobile and dropping down the cliff, she took cover behind a snow bank near where they'd go. She waited, listening as the halftrack thundered closer and loudly, bringing memories of another of Dementor's vehicles. _Least the drivers that time were dumb enough to drive into a chasm,_ she mused as she saw the halftrack driving right along, unaware what was about to happen. As it passed her, she leapt out and grappled to the side of it, charging her plasma and began to pull up, dull thuds each time she stuck her fingers at the metal, a grip melting in for her thanks to her powers. She reached the door as one of the henchmen looked out, and he shoved the door open as she grabbed it. She held on as it swung open, grunting as she was smashed against the front of the halftrack. He chuckled as he reached for the door to grab again…

… but this time Shego swung around and leapt into the halftrack, disposing of the two henchmen quickly and knocking them out the doors, sending them flying away with dull screams. She turned and went into the back, finding two more henchmen, one on the turret, the other sleeping.

"Hey, what's going- _Shego!_ Crap, not again!" shouted the turret gunner as he dropped down from it. Shego smiled and ran at him, hitting him in the chest hard and then delivering an uppercut, knocking him into the back door of the halftrack. The other henchman got up, grabbing a shock staff from the wall as the halftrack began to twist and turn. _Ah nuts, I forgot about the engine!_

The henchman growled as he swung at her, but she dodged. The second time he swung, she charged her plasma and slashed the shock staff in half before blasting him at point blank, knocking him into his comrade. She turned and hurried to the front, eyes widening as she realized they were about to go over a cliff.

She looked down as she was trying to find the right buttons to shut the halftrack down, but it was too confusing. _What happened to good old keys?_ She wondered as she realized it was a lost cause and booted the door open, leaping out as the halftrack sped over the cliff. Landing on the cliff itself, she pulled herself up and looked down, watching the explosion as the halftrack landed and its likely volatile fuel exploded. She scoffed and walked back towards her snowmobile. She thought she saw another energy signature briefly, but shook her head as it disappeared.

XX

**1:32 PM**

**Henchlympics 1v1**

Kim inhaled as she looked at Agent Alpha, trying to get it into her head that she might have to throw the fight as Gemini pulling up would lessen Dementor's grand mass more so than Kim winning. She exhaled slowly as the referee blew his whistle. "Contestants at the ready?"

"THREE!"

"TWO!"

"ONE!"

"GO!"

Kim leapt into the air immediately as Alpha looked like she was punching the thin air, but a cylindrical burst of sonic energy blasted forward from it, impacting the ropes at the edge and dissipating as they hit with a loud _bang_. Landing on her feet and rolling, she dodged the second blast and leapt forward, hitting Alpha with a swift triplet of kicks. Alpha staggered back before stomping her foot, creating a miniaturized shockwave that knocked Kim back into the ropes. Pushing herself off of them, she ducked as another sonic blast soared over her and caught in the protective net that had been lowered to shield spectators. Two more stomped bursts of sonic energy were fired and Kim leapt over both, somersaulting in mid air before landing and holding her arms out in preparation for a back flip as a third one followed. Alpha growled as the two began to circle, waiting for the other to make a move. _Stalemate,_ Kim realized as neither could make a move without the other reacting if Kim didn't go all out. She immediately noticed that the corners would be a perfect place to pin her down and saw a chance to break through and gain the upper hand.

_It's going to be rough, but we gotta do what we gotta do._ Duquette's warning echoed in her mind, stalling her for a brief moment. Alpha noticed. Taking the shot, she fired a quick spread of sonic blasts. Kim leapt into the air instinctively; she'd seen what the powers had done to Lucent and knew those could break bones if she wasn't careful. _How can I lose gracefully if I get my bones shattered?_ Kim wondered angrily as she continued dodging. She was _**not**_ going to break her bones just so some wannabe could beat her. She took the offensive and hit Alpha in the chest with a flying kick, knocking her back into the ropes. Kim landed on her feet and sprung forward, only to be knocked back by a sonic wave send along the ground, tripping her onto her back.

"Come on, little girl," Alpha taunted as she sent two more bursts along the ground to keep her moving, "You're nothing than an amateur with a lot of luck. Let me show you what happens to those who mess with the Worldwide Evil Empire!"

Kim scowled and darted side to side as she charged forward, avoiding a pair of blasts. As she closed in, a third one knocked her across into the ropes. Grunting, she heard several cracks and sharp jabs of pain, something warm coming from her legs where she slid against the ropes. Her instincts immediately took over, honed over years of combat with assorted villains. She looked at Alpha and thought of nothing else, not the Henchlympics, not the possibility to throw the fight, she saw her opponent and knew she needed now to _win_, it was that, or she'd be in even more pain and possibly worse. It became clear to her that Alpha would not go quietly. _And if I try to throw it, she'll break my bones as payback for earlier. It's do or die,_ her instincts said to her as it began pumping her Type A personality into a combat frenzy. In that moment she forgot the entire reason why she was infiltrating the Henchlympics. She was set into a combat mindset.

She dashed forward, focus clear as she let the fight carry her forward. She ducked and swerved around bursts of sonic energy and leapt over the waves sent intermittently. Kim closed the gap easily and dodged a last-ditch shot and struck with a swift uppercut. The uppercut knocked Alpha back into the ropes and dazed her. Like a fox on the hunt Kim moved in and began to pound Alpha, hitting her in the stomach before grabbing her by the shirt and flipping her around, hurling her into the opposite corner. She heard cheers from the crowd and amazement from the commentator.

Kim grappled with Alpha as the two closed with Alpha unable to fire her powers off as Kim had her hands on the WEE agent's wrists. The two struggled, then Kim leg swept Alpha as she released her wrists, knocking the WEE agent on top and out of the ring as she bounced off the ropes. Kim leapt at Alpha and crashed down on top of her, knocking her cold out with a brutal kick to the chest that knocked all the wind out of her and by the crack might of just broken a rib or two.

She turned as she heard slow clapping, surprised to see that Jack Hench had been there. As the adrenaline thundered its way out of her system, Kim realized just what she had done. She was supposed to _lose_ the fight to keep suspicion off the team as Gemini winning would be a better chance of keeping grand mass away than the GJ team winning…

"Well done, well done indeed." Hench said with his usual business suave. "You've carried the one versus one competition as a Second-in-Villainy; and as a rookie nonetheless! You're indeed a testament to HenchCo. Well done, you've earned any and all congratulations you get."

Kim nodded slowly, saying "Thank you, Mister Hench. Feels great to beat those powered up whackos."

Hench smiled wickedly, "Indeed." As he walked away, he saw him nod to his aide, who came over and the two talked, walking towards Hench's office. Kim looked into the crowd and saw Duquette, who had closed his eyes and was shaking his head slowly.

XX

"Drat!" Junior said as he handed the twenty Euros to the Spaniard mercenary, "You won!"

"Indeed, indeed," he said with a smile as he pocketed them, "Think that tells you how good an eye I am at seeing potential, Senior Junior?"

Bonnie just shook her head with a smirk as Junior admitted defeat; _Guys will be guys, and so will hotties and uglies._ She looked back at the camera as a replay of the fight, the agility this 'Sarah' was showing reminded Bonnie of someone, but she couldn't place who. She blinked as she thought of cheer practice. _No way, it can't be Kim!_ Bonnie thought with a frown, _This is so not her style. She'd just break in and steal, she wouldn't bother with this backstabbing… wait, she'd be just happy to backstab me, wouldn't she?_

She kept it to herself however; she'd get a closer look at her later during the awards ceremony.

XX

**Hench's Office**

Hench leaned onto his desk as he re-watched the performance in his office. There was a short break between events now given the shock of 'Sarah's' latest victory. "Erik, was this in her skills set? It's becoming clear that this 'Sarah' is more than she seems.

"No, it wasn't. It isn't in most people's skill sets. However, the only red head I know of who's that good is…"

"Kim Possible." Hench growled as he called it, finally putting two and two together. Reacting over the cheerleader insult, beating experienced villainous sidekicks despite trying to lose to Alpha to keep a grand mass out until something clicked, it all made sense. "Global Justice's infiltration team brought her in as extra fire support, hmmm?" he said, smiling wickedly, "Excellent. We can let the last events of the competition continue as normal then nab her at the awards. Brilliant! de Minion, what methods of torture do we have available to us? I _really_ want payback for what she's done to HenchCo!"

"We have the usual. The pyrovator if we want to burn her."

"No, that's too medieval for me, even though she is a witch." Hench answered as he flipped open his folder, "Hmmm… we do have the Mangler. Wouldn't mind twisting her." Then the many continuations of the idea hit him, "Or maybe permanently hobble her. Be a great piece of payback: she keeps thrashing us by leaping around, now she'll be a cripple for life. Worthless, a broken relic who'll be at the mercy of every client of ours she's wronged." He smiled as the thought played through his head, _yes_ that would be what he'd do. He would permanently cripple her, leave her worse than dead. She was a strong and independent woman, so the best way for payback would be to take as much of that independence away as he could in perfectly ironic poetic justice.

"That won't be an issue," de Minion said, "But I must stress that she's never been properly beaten before and disposed of quickly enough, as she made off with the Molecular Transducer at the start of the third quarter last year. If we do this and succeed, Global Justice may rain literal hell on HenchCo with agents and possibly even GJV-38 airstrikes if things become extreme enough and GJ gets legal go-ahead."

"We can handle it; she's trespassing on our property. I have a long enough list of crimes against HenchCo done by her to see her hang from a tree _naked_. Our elite lawyers can make the case easily once she's detained and GJ's illegal infiltration is exposed." He had been saving the list of crimes to make as big a political shitstorm as he could. He didn't want Kim to be able to worm her way out; he wanted as long a list so it was _impossible_ for her to escape, pun intended.

de Minion nodded, "Very well. I'll get our stretching rack out, as well as the other things. Usual person?"

"Usual. Executer's going to enjoy this after Kim killed his brother."

"Round housed him out a window, right? Died in the hospital a few weeks later without even a passive mention in the news?"

"Yes, the ironclad theft a couple weeks before Lil Diablo… amazing she never even knew. Though the doctors said it was actually a cancer tumor of some sorts, no denying that Kim must of aggravated it after round housing him out the window."

"Well, Executer will surely do a good job then." He smiled as he pulled a candy from his plate, watching Kim on the monitor with a sadistic smile and enjoying the fact that she was unaware that this was likely to be the last day she'd have use of her legs. He enjoyed these view screens as they made it so much easier to see things. "In fact, call her up for a job well done after the sim duel. Let Dementor know what is going on, I think him pitching an offer to join would work at keeping Possible from catching the ploy… don't mention it, but if he helps we can slip him the grand mass under the table, as he clearly would have won if not for these GJ agents."

XX

**1:59 PM**

**Henchlympics Team Waiting Rooms**

Kim kept her eyes from Duquette as they sat in the waiting room for their team, alone. The waiting rooms had no cameras and one of the agents already swept for bugs. Some of the undercover GJ agents had been hurt in the events, but they weren't seriously injured yet. Finally, Duquette broke the silence, "Nice job handing Alpha her ass. 'bout damn time."

"No big," Kim answered, "But I thought…"

"Yeah, you can expect to get some flak for it. But as long as this isn't totally screwed, we're alright. Just the simulator duel left, and that's only for a Second-in-Villainy weight class. I think you know what you have to do."

"Heh," Kim answered uncomfortably. The score was now a neck-to-neck tie with Dementor, so they had managed to keep the grand mass, now they just had the last event before it ended. The good news was that the simulator would take a considerable period of time to prepare, so between then and now she had to finish the mission. "Well, least we're not losing horribly."

The attempted humor wasn't missed by the GJ agents, and one or two of them began to chuckle lightly, but they all knew that Kim's hotheadedness had the potential to backfire the entire operation. _Please don't backfire,_ she hoped as she glanced around. If it backfired, things were going to become extremely ugly extremely quickly. She may have broken out of HenchCo's compounds after break in easily, but others weren't so lucky.

_Beep beep be-beep._

Kim frowned as she heard it, then realized Wade was calling her by the earpiece. She tapped it and smiled as she heard Wade's voice; _"Hey Kim, two things. First, Doctor Director isn't exactly happy the plan didn't go off, but you've got a go for the operation. You're tracking is disabled, so you know what to do. I'll be with you the whole time and will let you know if anything happens. First step is going to be getting a mole into Hench's systems; you know the drill. Keep in mind you don't have your gadgets, but I'll give you directions. Get into the vents first."_

Kim nodded to Duquette and pointed to the vents. Duquette nodded, giving her a boost as she opened them and crawled in, glad that they were still large enough to hold her. Wade told her the directions and she followed them over the next five minutes before pushing it open and finding herself in a computer room.

One of Hench's henchmen looked around, not noticing her until Kim sprang out from behind and hit him in the back. "OOF!" he shouted as he was knocked to the floor and unconscious. She glanced around, checking for any other henchmen. There were none. She smiled as Wade called; _"Alright Kim, go for the green marked terminal. I'll talk you through it."_

She walked up to it and accessed the files, following Wade's instructions. After a minute she heard something in the room power down._ "Perfect! Alright Kim, his exterior firewall is out. I'm downloading now… alright, I got a map now. You need to get to his interior firewall, but there aren't any vents to it, it's a vault-like storage area."_

_Great,_ Kim thought, realizing that she didn't bring anything to breach any kind of security vault. She checked the henchman she'd knocked out, making sure he was unconscious as Wade continued, _"Good news is that the barracks next to it has a control for the system. I've uploaded a virus with a distinct Lucre-like edge to it to screw his systems, so don't worry about cameras seeing you for Hench. Head out the door and take a left, and follow the hallway until you get to the elevator, then take it three levels down."_

Kim did so. As she reached the elevator, a pair of henchmen walked out carrying shock staves. "HEY!" one of them shouted, "You aren't supposed to be here!" They charged the staves and pointed them at her. She reacted quickly, jumping over the two shots fired from them and kicked the first henchman into the other, causing them to drop the shock staves. Kim smiled and grabbed one herself, adjusting the charge and slamming it down next to them and creating an electrical net. She smiled mockingly and said, "See ya, boys," and took the elevator down to the firewall vault.

XX

**End Chapter**

*** HenchCo provides guns to who seem to be every villain on the block and seem to run conventions for them, so I wouldn't be surprised they'd have games for the henchmen to have some 'fun'.**

*** Pride's always been a weakness for Kim and I wanted to show it here. Too headstrong to accept defeat against something she can take on, you know? Besides, Alpha really doesn't hold a candle to her if she's really trying. She's certainly a threat, but Kim can pretty much reliably beat her baring extreme circumstance.**

*** Alright, so I wasn't exactly sure what kind of contests HenchCo would do and if I wrote out a dozen events like a track meet we'd be here 'till the cows came home. So I condensed it to a few events and only focused on Kim's actual participation in whacky ways.**

*** For those curious; the halftracks used by Dementor are actually based on the one he used in the Disney online game **_**Middleton Mayhem**_**, which focused on the Sloth. Dementor's halftrack (that's literally what it was called IIRC) is pretty much the boss battle of it, and I figured that it fit the character. Short guy, big ass set of (compensating) wheels.**

*** Minor correction note; 'WWEE' should have just been 'WEE' and 'World Wide Evil Empire' should have been 'Worldwide Evil Empire'. I'm going to be going through each chapter sometime soon and making the quick update. Ah well, live and learn.**

**-=In-Universe Documents: GJ Classifications=-**

**Database Classifications:**

_Choose File Set:_

_**Clearance Levels:**_

_**Level 5, Level 4, Level 3, Level 2, Level 1**_

_**(Least)-(Highest)**_

_**Technology Ratings:**__ (Scale usually ranges T-1 to T-7 at most)_

_**T-1: Sticks & Stones**_

_**T-2: Classical to Mid-Medieval Era**_

_**T-3: Late Medieval to pre-Industrial Era**_

_**T-4: Industrial Era to ~ End of WWII**_

_**T-5: Modern Era**_

_**T-6: Advanced Modern Era**_

_**T-7: Low Alien Tech/Most Advanced Human Technology**_

_**T-8: Advanced Alien Tech**_

_**T-9: Beyond Mankind**_

_**T-10: God Only Knows**_

_**Cybernetics Ratings:**_

**C-0: No Cybernetics**

**C-1: Minor cybernetics**

**C-2: Limb-replacing cybernetics**

**C-3: Full Body Overhaul cybernetics**

_**Classification Overview: Origin**_

File: GJD-03

**Minimal Clearance Level Required: 4**

_Updated: July 24th, 2007_

_Subject__: Global Justice Classifications_

_Sub-Directory__: Origins_

_- Global Justice, as part of its mandate to face and stop the spread of superpowered abuse and villainous activity across the globe has also created classifications for usage in quickly giving the schematics of an individual within a few concise categories. Origin is the category that determines what grants a subject their abilities in both combat and non combat situations. The origins are:_

Natural | Technology | Magic

_Each of these origins is determined based on dependency. Previously, the classification 'Super' was used instead of magic, but verified reports of magic have lead to the phasing out of 'Super/Mutant' as an origin. Super is now a sub-category of magic and technology origins._

_Each origin is a keystone of general trends. The most common across the globe is the natural origin, which is what is standard for every human and no superpowers, combat drugs, or any form of DNA manipulation is involved. Technology is shortly behind given the vast increase in the years following the events of the Cold War. Mutants/Supers are also becoming increasingly common. Rumors and varied confirmations have also verified the existence of magical-origin objects and some individuals with powers that classify as such, giving magic a place as an origin within GJ's database as of July 24__th__._

Origin Details:

Natural:

_This is the meta-origin of all classifications. It is where all begin. Those classified as having a natural origin are those who do not benefit from powers or advanced technology and are able to rely on their own. This does not mean they do not make use of advanced technology, but rather than they make use of their own talents and do not use enhancers, powers, or regular usage of highly advanced equipment above a T-5 rating. Gadgets are a common part of a natural combatant's arsenal, particularly those who must contend with superpowered individuals in their work. A natural succeeds in his or her goals without the usage of powers and is an example of what any man or woman can do with the right dedication._

_The criteria of a Natural-origin classification are as follows:_

_- Does not possess any form of meta-human ability (required)_

_- Does not rely on technology of a T-6 rating or greater (required)*_

_- Does not possess cybernetics ranking above C-2 (Required)_

_- Immunity to being sapped (See Below)_

_It has been noted that those classifying as a natural origin are immune to the effects of the 'Sapper' as a duplicate of the stolen technology used during the recent attack on Go City was attempted to be fired at Kim Possible but did not phase her whatsoever (see file GOC-43 for details), leading to a conclusion that immunity to being sapped is a possible new requirement for the natural origin._

_* Note; those classified as naturals can make use of T-6 or above technology, but they must not be dependent on that technology._

_Notable Example:_

_-Kim Possible_

Technology:

_Possibly the most difficult one to classify, the origin technology has been heavily debated amongst GJ analysts responsible for the classification of power origin. The general consensus is that one under the technology origin is one who relies on their technology for their actions. Robotics automatically fall under this classification. Those of the technology origin tend to be scientists of the mad category or those making use of experimental machines in their workings._

_A technology origin subject is classified with the following criteria:_

_- Makes use of technology ranking above the T-5 category. (Required)_

_- Relies on their technology in their endeavors that their technology focuses on. (Required)_

_- Possess robotics or cybernetics rating higher than C-2._

_- Tech used by individual can be sapped. (Required? See Below)_

_Notably, tests by PBD in the 'Sapper' device indicate that technology above the T-6 rating and even some T-5 technology is vulnerable to this sapping. Analysts are debating whether or not this should be added as a requirement to the origin classification._

_Notable Examples:_

_- Gemini_

_- Professor Dementor_

Magic:

_The latest and most unknown of the classifications is 'Magic'. Magic is difficult to define and proper categorization has yet to be determined, but GJ has concluded that magic is indeed a primary origin and replaced the previous super after research indicated that those of a super/mutant classification are of variable origin. Little is known about magic or its powers, but a number of artifacts have been discovered of having magical powers to them that cannot be scientifically quantified. Research into this continues as to minimize blindsiding of GJ and PBD forces attempting to prevent superpowered crime and attacks._

_No criteria have yet been established, but certain individuals may be classified as magic in their files._

_Only Example:_

_- Ron Stoppable_

_Sub-Classification:_

Mutant/Super:

_The term 'mutant' is often interchanged with 'super'. For purposes of this report, 'super' shall be used as a generalization. Supers are those that have been given powers of a wide variety of abilities, many of them defying conventional scientific wisdom and knowledge. A common trace origin in these is either unusual DNA or some variation of radiation. Regardless of their origin, they are effectively one and the same in regards to general classification. A number of heroes and villains alike are classified under this category._

_A mutant/super is defined as having meta-human abilities that are not created by cybernetics or removable technology__._

_Notably, supers can have a root of either technology or magic. The origin of these powers is as varied as the individuals who have them. This origin has had the most research done into it, yet the least has been understood of it. The magical origin of a super's power was unconfirmed until [Clearance Level 2 Required: Area 51 released details of recovered alien files from the 2007 alien attack (file WAR-87B)] revealed that the superpowers of 'Team Go' are in fact of magical origin due to the source of the comet giving them that powers. Given they are recognized as supers in the same vein as tech-based heroes and the revelation technology exists, this change has been made._

_Notable Examples:_

_- Team Go_

_- Agent Robert "Shieldbash" Webber_


	12. Chapter 12: Worst Henchman Ever

"_When Wade originally built the battle suit, he intended it to be a one-of-a-kind super prototype until he could develop the tech further and ways to contain it if it went missing developed. We both knew what would happen when the battle suit debuted to the world: villains would get into an arms race trying to get their hands on it. We just expected it to take years to duplicate the technology, since it took Wade three years just to make the suit. We couldn't of been more wrong."_

- Kim Possible, musing on the battle suit and its implications, as recorded in her _Liber Memoriarum_

"_This is Atton Williams to GJ headquarters, over. I'm tracking Shego in Greenland now, she's in close proximity to the energy signature. No intent has been determined, but she's moving towards it. [...] Yes ma'am, I'll detain her."_

_- _GJ _Specter_-class operative Atton Williams to Doctor Director, shortly after spotting Shego in Greenland

**Chapter 12: Worst. Henchman. Ever.**

**July 26****th****, 2007**

**HenchCo Facility**

**Northshore, Washington**

Kim ducked behind the doorway as a pair of henchmen walked by. She was in the third sub-level of the HenchCo facilities, where Hench stored his database. Wade needed to get access to it, and she had to provide that for him. The two henchmen didn't notice her and walked right on by as they held their shock staves casually. Kim slipped out of the way and moved on as Wade called her earpiece, _"Alright Kim, you're almost there. The barracks is about fifty meters up the hallway and will be to your left; it's got a big red mark on the door so you can't miss it."_

She crept silently along the wall, her back to it as she kept on the lookout for traps. According to Wade, no one had noticed the two henchmen she'd pinned down earlier, but she was half expecting an alarm to go off at any second now. _Now I really miss my gadgets,_ she thought with an internal sigh as she saw another henchman walking up. _Oh well,_ she decided as she took cover, waiting behind a doorway. She glanced at it, noticing that it read 'Guard Dogs'. _Uh oh…_

The henchman walked up and turned, frowning as he saw her: "What are…"

He didn't get a chance to finish as Kim sprang into him, tackled him to the floor and began wrestling with him over the shock staff he had. She punched him in the gut again and then back flipped over to the door, taking the shock staff out of his loosened grip and sending it into the ceiling where it impaled itself on a light fixture and blew it out. The henchman charged, but Kim simply hit him with several punches, effortlessly knocking him to the ground and leaving him unconscious. She glanced at the door, hoping Wade would answer for her.

"_Just checked. Alright Kim, there's a couple guard dogs in there. Breed? German Sheppard, so be careful."_

Kim simply nodded and moved on. Guard dogs she'd handled before, but then she had distractions for them. This would be a different kind of fight if it came down to it. She found her way to the barracks Wade had pointed out to her and nodded, noticing the vault door just down the hall. _"Alright Kim, I'm detecting six henchmen in there but they don't have shock staves yet, so if you hurry you might stop them from massing shots. Still, it's going to raise some ruckus."_

Kim nodded an affirmative and opened the door, entering a rectangular barracks with a rack of shock staves on the back wall above a computer terminal. The six henchmen with unique yellow markings turned towards her and gave her a quizzical look. Two had stopped an arm-wrestling match (to which one contestant slammed the other's arm to the table), one was reading the latest edition of the _Humans_ magazine, and the other three were lying in their beds. The assorted looks was replaced with shouts as Kim charged the closest henchman and threw him into two others who were arm wrestling a moment ago. She leapt towards the one reading the magazine and hit him with a flying kick, knocking him into the rack of shock staves on the wall, breaking them. One ran for the weapons rack while the other two charged her, trying to swarm her before she could hit them back. She kicked one away into a bed and knocked him out on top of it. The second henchman was punching and Kim blocked the first three strikes.

A meaty punch then managed to get under Kim's guard and knocked her backwards, pain shooting up her ribcage and spine as colors exploded in her eyes. Blinking it away as another henchman charged, she ducked low and leg swept him, causing him to trip over her and land on his face, breaking his nose in the process. She heard a distinct _pew_ sound and leapt into the air just in time to avoid a shock staff blast. The blast sped by and left a black scorch mark on the door that briefly smoked. Kim dodged the next blast with a quick sidestep and dashed forward, getting in close to him and striking him quickly; right, left, uppercut. He staggered from the three swift and powerful blows, collapsing backwards and dropping his shock staff. Kim smiled as she overlooked her handiwork, the henchmen all out across the room and unable to move from the pain they were in after she smacked them down. She glanced around and spotted the console Wade had told her about and walked over, accessing it and following Wade's instructions she disabled the interior firewall's vault door.

"_Nice job Kim,"_ Wade said in her earpiece, _"Get into the vault quickly, I'll talk you through disabling the firewall for good. You haven't been detected yet, but still, you should hurry."_

Kim nodded and left the barracks, taking a left to the vault and entering. The vault opened and she walked in, the musky and dry air sticking in her throat, giving her a déjà vu feeling for the times she had awaited in (air-vented) vaults to catch villains in the act. She easily found the terminal that Wade was looking for and walked up to it, accessing the terminal and following Wade's instructions. _"Interior firewall disabled,"_ Wade said, _"Good job. That's mission accomplished, my mole is in and GJ should be getting a lot of data on every detail on Hench. Hang on, better close the vault and take cover, there's a henchman coming down on patrol."_

Kim shut the terminal down and hurried out the vault, shutting it and dashing into the barracks as she caught a glimpse of a henchman walking by. Holding her breath out of habit, she waiting for Wade to give her the signal that it was clear.

XX

**Somewhere near the North Pole**

**Greenland**

Shego melted the vault door open with her powers and stepped in as she had a large enough hole. Given where this vault was, she was hoping it was a heavy arsenal. It was another bay, like the previous stores she'd been in. This time however, it was much smaller and only had several racks of shock staves and two of HenchCo's '_Lasher_' turrets inactive. She frowned at the paltry load out in this arsenal before as she noticed something behind the usual terminal. What she noticed was a glowing power cell of some kind suspended in midair by some containment field. _That_, she decided as she called the likely cliché at work, _That might be worthwhile._ She approached the terminal and accessed it easily. She was well versed in the drill by now.

"**Identity confirmed. Congratulations."** The computer terminal recorded, then the usual hologram of Generalissimo's silhouette appeared.

"_Greetings to the villain or villainess who activated this message; if you do not know already, I am known as "Generalissimo", a pseudonym I adopted for this... project of mine. You see, with the world in chaos after the alien invasion, now is the time for a villainous ruler to take over the world. I have created storage areas not unlike this one with the intent of a worthy person, one worthy of the title 'villain' or 'villainess', to claim them and use them well to bring about their master scheme. Be aware, of course, others seeking to prove themselves worthy are also after these. Keep such in mind when you make your claims."_

She sighed as the recording played out again. She wished there was a way to skip it after the fifth time of hearing it. Then the second recording began, the one she was actually interested in.

"_What you look at is an alien power cell salvaged from one of their walkers from under the noses of Global Justice. Like all alien technology, it is generally illegal to trade in it. However, these power cells are the heart of any of their powerful walkers; only one is required to give it fuel, another to power each of its weapons, and an additional one to run secondary systems."_

Shego felt her body tense in brief fear as she realized that that power cell, only a half-foot diameter wide cylinder of maybe two and a half feet could power an entire walker with maybe four of those cells; one for fuel, two for its guns, and another to run whatever else was running in those walkers. Then she remembered that she had managed to take out several walkers; one that tried to attack her as she saw Drakken abducted, another as she arrived in the Tri-City area, and a third as she saved Kim's dad and her sidekick. The recording continued after that momentary realization.

"_Reverse engineering of this technology can yield a power source more than capable of powering any villainous device. The true advantage of the alien technology however would be the staff weapons that the aliens make use of."_ The silhouette image faded as an image of Warmonga's staff weapon appeared in hologram, floating around as the voice continued; _"The staff weapon you see here belonged to one of the aliens behind the attack. It was lost during the conflict, but was recovered by a scavenger and sold it on the Black Market. The dealer Big Daddy Brotherson was the one responsible for its transaction to a man residing in Northern Italy, named Giacomo Venuchi."_

"The Italian mad scientist with some sense of morality?" She asked in surprise as the recording ended, surprised. She glanced at the power cell and nodded. Then she heard the sound of a shotgun pumping and turned around.

"Put your hands in the air and don't try to charge any plasma," said a man clad in GJ gunmetal grey Kevlar aiming a GJA-15 _Vindicator_ at her, his steam-punk like helmet giving an almost villainous look to him despite the reassuring glow of the blue power lines and optic covers. He had a GJA-19 on his back mount and his two gauntlets were, she noted, made with Drakken's shock staff tech. She snorted derisively at the GJ agent, well aware that their new electro-gauntlets were inferior to her own powers and that GJ had nothing that could touch her.

"You really think one agent can take me?" Shego challengingly asked, noticing the name _Williams_ stamped on his left shoulder guard.

"I'm a _Specter_ operative," Williams answered, "You're under arrest. Last chance to come quiet."

"Sorry, Williams," she answered, "But I don't go quietly." With that, she sprang into the air as a shotgun blast of GJA flew into the console, a movie stock ricochet sound echoing as the energy rounds impacted it. She grabbed the railing of the vault bay and sprang forward as more energy rounds in an assault rifle mode flew after her. She landed on the ground as Williams ran out of ammunition in that clip and grabbed one of the grenades off of his belt and hurled it at her. It exploded into a mass of glue and pinned Shego's legs to the floor, giving him time to cycle to his next clip. Growling as she lit her plasma, she hacked the glue off of her legs and leapt up, a shotgun blast sailing towards where she had been seconds ago. He rolled to the side as she came crashing down, putting a small crater into the floor where his head had been. The two _Lasher_ turrets powered up and started shooting at Williams as they identified the hero. The _Specter_ operative avoided the first two shots from each before blasting one with a single shotgun blast then taking the other turret out with a sonic mine hurled after priming. He turned towards her and fired, the shotgun blast nailing her as she was too close to dodge when it fired.

She grunted in pain as the resilience her powers gave her was put to the test from the joules blasting through her body from the aftershock of the energy hit. She pushed herself back up and rolled to the side as Williams finished reloading and hurled another glue grenade at her. This time she was ready and avoided it, a wall of shock staves glued together and tumbling off the rack as they were pulled from their slots. She hurled several bolts of plasma towards him as she flipped around his energy blasts. She caught him in the shoulder and caused him to grunt in pain from the hit, but he kept at her and charged, closing the distance as another plasma bolt knocked his GJA-19 off of its harness and causing it to clatter against the floor and end up along the vault's entrance. As he stormed towards her she smirked and leapt over him with the intent to hit him from behind. Unfortunately, the _Specter_ called her maneuver and whirled around, hitting her with another blast and knocking her onto her back as he cocked the hybrid and aimed at her head. "Shoulda surrendered while you could, Shego." He taunted as he stood over her.

Shego snorted and tripped him, knocking the GJA-15 away as she rolled out of the way. The rifle went off and blasted another row of shock staves to some level of uselessness. The two looked at each other briefly before both of them sprang towards it. She grappled with him on the floor, the two wrestling over his rifle as another blast went off harmlessly into the ceiling and blew one of the ceiling beams out, the metal bar crushing the GJA-19 at the entry way. She pinned one of his arms to the floor and got a punch to the face from a charged electro gauntlet for her trouble, knocking her off. The GJA-15 clattered onto the floor as Williams' rolled around to grab it, but Shego shot it with her plasma and sent the rifle sliding away crashing into the wall, smoking and reduced to scrap. Williams' charged his energy gauntlets and met her in melee combat, using what she quickly recognized as a decent mix of tiger and mantis kung fu. _Not a bad fighter,_ she decided as she pushed a kick down with both her hands and dodged a follow up punch before striking back with a powerful hit to the chest, followed by two kicks and grabbing his extended arm and hurling him into the wall. Grunting as he hit and fell down, Williams pushed himself up and grabbed another grenade, hurling it towards her as it exploded into a smokescreen.

Blinded, Shego wasn't able to see his next attack, but she heard it and was able to partially dodge the tackle. She still went down to the ground, but she landed to the side of the _Specter_ and was able to easily roll out of the way as the smoke cleared, jumping onto Williams and pinning him to the ground. She blasted him in the chest with her plasma twice, the chest plate disfiguring under the plasma hits. Williams rolled roughly and knocked her off, rising to charge her again. She blocked his blows before she clawed his helmet with her plasma, cutting into it and causing him to recoil from the hit. She followed up quickly, punching his chest twice and further ruining his armor as it began to disfigure beyond recognition. He grunted under each blow before finally she hit him hard enough to knock him across the room. He collided with the wall and fell down, crumpling like a rag doll as he slumped against the wall, hands laying beside him and head hanging loosely looking down as the power lines in his helmet shut down as whatever optic targeting system he had in there had the power cut.

She snorted derisively and walked back to the console, booting it up again and downloading all the information. She nodded as the data flashed; a bank account in Switzerland with a good stash of cash, the shock staves in the arsenal were of decent quality and armaments, and the actual alien power source. That she noted was the real value of the arsenal, but the notes on where the staff weapon went were also useful. The download into her flash drive finished and she noticed an option to release the power cell. She walked up to it and pulled it from the field it was suspended in and carried it out of the vault.

Outside in the biting cold again, she put it into the snowmobile's trunk and got back on, noting a GJV-07 armored snowmobile a short ways away. She briefly considered destroying it, but then decided against it as if Williams ever woke up from the beating she dealt him, the engine would be far too cold to heat up anyways. _He should of just sniped me,_ she decided as she drove off and pondered the encounter, remembering that he had a GJA-19 with him. _Oh well, his loss._

XX

**HenchCo Facility**

**Northshore, Washington**

The footsteps didn't leave. There was pacing for a few moments, then more footsteps. Time dilated as adrenaline, fear powered adrenaline, pumped through her body and put it into an alert state of being, ready to fight or flee in a moment's notice. Then the footsteps began again, echoing softly as she put herself against the wall.

"_You're clear Kim,"_ Wade said in her earpiece, _"He just left."_

The relief flooded out of her body, leaving Kim tired for a faint moment. She wasn't afraid of fighting henchmen, but it didn't stop her from becoming tense during those moments.

"_Alright Kim, you've done the basic objective and I'm jacking the data on the Sapper duplicates, but I think that we have a really good chance to get some samples. I've located Hench's lab, it's a floor and long walk down. By the looks of it he's gotten some of that new rima in his lab as well as all sorts of Hench-enhancers you could swipe. A little sabotage there wouldn't be out of place either."_ Wade explained.

Kim smirked and whispered back into the small earpiece, "I'll hit the lab. Just tell me what I need to do."

She waited a moment before she opened the door and crept out, following Wade's instructions back and into the elevator again and went another level down; the research labs were located as deep underground as possible. Kim knew Hench was many things: an arms dealer, a businessman, a slippery snake of a man, but he was also clever enough to avoid testing highly explosive and dangerous things near his main facilities. They were deep enough down now that any explosion would be contained. The elevator opened and Kim moved up the long, possibly quarter mile long hallway. She didn't like it, it felt too much like a trap to her. She half expected the walls to begin closing or lasers to explode from nowhere. Several lines on the floor began to glow red at even five-meter spaces. Kim was between them at the moment.

Then, as if on cue, a set of three small orb-like protrusion stuck out from one side of the room, red laser nets appearing at the regular intervals. She looked towards the three orbs and immediately recognized what she was looking at. _Laser sweep!_ Blue lasers activated from the top and bottom orbs, one on each side of the section she was in. Wade didn't need to radio her about it: She knew that since she wouldn't have the chip that would register to the lasers that she wasn't hostile. The lasers moved towards her and she jumped horizontally into the air and spun, landing as the two beams passed her. A third one from the middle grew and began it's sweep, but Kim stayed in the crouch she was in as it passed over her twice. She stood as the lasers disappeared and the nets went down, continuing her journey.

She finally came to the end of it; a solid steel door with hazard markings all over it. _That's the lab,_ she decided.

As she opened it, a henchman turned to attack her but it was too late for him. Kim had already swept his legs out from under him and knocked him onto his back. She quickly knocked him out with a nerve strike to make sure he didn't wake up anytime soon. She stood and took in what the lab looked like.

It was a large silo in a hexagonal shape, each side having a containment barrier ranging from a glass door to an energy barrier; some even had both. All of them had decontamination gases being pumped in front of them as several scientists worked on the levels above, not noticing the henchman that Kim took out go down. She looked up as she was at the bottom, whistling as she realized she was actually _outside_ of Hench's main complex. Wade's signal was breaking up; _"You're in the lab. Just attune any terminal to the reserve frequency and I'll download. Hang on, your com..."_ static, _"…nature is break…"_ more static, _"…by whatever's being…"_ static _"…re. Be careful."_

She sighed and walked towards the nearest computer terminal, smiling as she realized Hench left it wide open. The terminal was next to a glass-door contained lab that resembled a methane lab, but the liquid inside was red in color. It beeped and the computer said in a synthesized feminine voice: _"Test Product #13: Rage Injection. Project Status: Blacklisted. Doors sealed, data stored to central server."_

Kim wasn't interested in anything Hench of all people blacklisted. When he blacklisted a project, it meant that it was too infeasible to work even for mad scientists who made their reputation on insane technology. She moved on and walked up onto the catwalks. One of Hench's scientists reacted and drew a knife-like shock baton from his lab coat, charging her. Kim easily dodged the first jab and kicked him in the wrist, knocking the baton away. She followed up with several swift punches, knocking him down to the floor and leaving him battered and unconscious. She walked to the console he was working on.

"_Product Analysis #18: Rima. Analysis of new external product purchased from WEE in analysis. Duplication experiments in progress."_

Kim glanced into the methane lab setup within and opened the glass door on the console, walking in and snatching two of the small square packages, slipping them into her pockets. _GJ would love to study this if WEE's involved with it,_ she thought as she walked out and sealed the lab back up. Moving on, she found another muscle enhancer in another lab; a new model of ring based on his previous version. Two catwalks up she noticed a new laser turret in an energy-barrier protected lab. Smiling at Wade's mention of sabotage, she entered and kicked it with a single, precise strike. Her experience in disabling villainous equipment and subsequent knowledge of where to hit certain devices paid off as she knocked the laser back and it began to emit smoke. She moved away and put the energy field back up as it exploded with a dull thud, shrapnel peppering the energy field and hitting it before falling back down.

"Hey, who's messing with the lab gear?" asked a henchman with a Texan accent as he walked down a catwalk ramp, a cowboy hat worn over his uniform. "Hey, who're you?" he asked as Kim charged him and hurled him into the wall with a judo throw, the hat floating down to the ground as it flew off. He hit the wall head facing down and collapsed backwards onto the catwalk like a rag doll, rolling down until he came to a halt outside of the lab Kim had just disabled. She continued up, noting another lab before the one the scientist was working on. Inside was some sort of rifle with a secondary and barrel under the main chamber with a pump-action. She accessed it.

"_Prototype Weapon #41: HC-10 Blaster Rifle. Based on shock staff and GJA-line weapons with an under slung kinetic chamber for high-end rounds or as a grenade launcher. Has both stun and kill functions, though the former is still being worked on with interchangeability."_

She frowned a moment, looking at the gun, then decided there wasn't much she could do in regards to it other than let Wade take the data, which he probably already did as she had moved it to the reserve frequency he mentioned. She moved on and almost swore when she saw what was in the next lab, guarded by both energy barrier and glass door. She accessed the terminal to try and confirm what it was.

"_Experiment #42: Battle Suit Duplication. Based on scans of her in action and analysis of materials used, experimental analog to battle suit in prototype stage."_

She felt a void in her chest, a void filled with fear as she realized just what had been going on in HenchCo. _I knew this always coulda happened after Dementor hijacked the suit,_ she thought as she made sure the link to Wade was open, _but this is way too soon. The tech is way beyond a lot of scientists, even Wade said he was pushing the envelope with it... that's why he had to cut it down..._ "Wade, you getting this?"

Static; _".. ly. Goin..."_ static, _"minute to..._" static, _"upload..."_

Kim nodded, turning as she heard another henchman charging down the ramp. She dodged a swipe from his shock staff and kicked him in the back, knocking him into the wall. He growled and turned, but a swift punch to the face knocked him back into it. Another henchman charged down and took a moment to fire his shock staff. Kim sidestepped the blast as it shot into the door to the duplicate battle suit and harmlessly hit it save for a brief yet loud buzz. She didn't give him a chance to fire a second shot; she grabbed the previous henchman's shock staff and aimed it, powering it on and taking the shot. It's unwieldy nature made it a pathetic ranged weapon, the shot speeding and hitting the wall next to the henchman, but it surprised him enough that Kim was able to close the distance and use it as a melee weapon.

The henchman grunted as he blocked her first blow, then swung it low, tripping Kim onto her back. She brought the staff horizontally across her chest to block his next strike, energy sparking as the two weapons met. She then booted him from below, knocking him backwards and into the space between the catwalk rise and the above catwalk. He grunted and tumbled down, turning to bring his shock staff to bear. Kim fired a second shot that landed at his feet, causing him to trip backwards as his boots began to smoke. She leapt down onto him and made sure he was unconscious with a swift nerve strike, glancing around. She didn't see anyone else moving to react to her actions.

She smirked down at the shock stick, then the HC-10, then back down to it as she realized the quip that was _begging_ to be used, "This is a weapon of terror, meant to _intimidate_ the enemy," she said as she tossed the staff aside and looked at the HC-10. "_That_ is a weapon of war, meant to kill the enemy." She paused a moment before adding silently to herself, _Not that it's my style though. I'll take knockout munitions any day over a gram of lead._

She walked back to the duplicate battle suit as Wade managed to report that he finished his download. "Any advice on destroying it?"

"_Explosives."_ Wade answered before static cut him off again. Nodding, Kim walked up the next cat walk, looking for an incendiary explosive being tested on. It took several minutes as she checked each lab, finding other Hench-enhancers like a ring along the muscle enhancer that increased durability rather than strength, but no explosives. She sighed, thinking back to what she could use to destroy the battle suit as she very well couldn't walk out with it. Then she frowned, walking back down as she remembered one of the many power sources Hench was experimenting with. She accessed the computer to confirm what she thought she heard earlier.

"_Experiment #68: Tri-Lithium Power Cell. Based on design used by Wade Load, experimental phase."_

Kim smirked; she had taken time to learn the quirks of the Kimmunicator's own batteries, and one of the things Wade had told her was that the power cells using tri-lithium could be rigged to explode, but only if it was a certain mass. This one that Hench was experimenting with wasn't a chip for a handheld mix of communicator and iPod: the one in the lab wouldn't look out of place in a _spaceship_ to power a bunch of computers. She thought back to her GJ demolitions training and their rules on improvised explosives; _Once it's rigged clear out immediately before detonation, use another detonator if you can to set it off if you can._

The punch line of a tri-lithium power cell was that if the power was redirected back to itself directly it could cause instability; it wasn't a problem with the extremely small version Wade used, but with something the size of a football all Kim had to do was make sure the power redirected back to it and nature would take its course.

She opened the glass door it was held behind and walked in, scooping up the power cell and heading back down to where the battle suit duplicate was. She set to work rewiring the power cell, noting several plugs in the actual room that was likely to power the battle suit duplicate. _Looks like they haven't figured out Wade's palladium nanites,_ she mused briefly as she finished rigging it to blow and set the duplicate around the makeshift bomb and powered it on. Hurrying out of the lab and sealing it, she pushed the downed henchmen and scientist through the ramp to keep them out of the explosion.

_THUD._

The explosion reverberated against the dual barrier, and Kim walked up to see the glass door cracked and the energy barrier, but inside it was all smoke. She opened the barrier, the smoke spilling out, but she was satisfied to see nothing but the remains of the suit burning up. She glanced back towards the exit and made her way there; the sabotage part of the mission was over.

XX

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron parried the blow before leg sweeping his opponent, knocking her onto the ground. She leapt back up swiftly and attacked again, the two wooden katanas they were sparring with. He grunted as he blocked the strikes, the urge to use magic to just win the fight growing each time the two swords met, splinters flying as they began to chip away at the swords. The wax layer designed to keep them in working use had long since exhausted in the fierce duel. The two parried and the blades were pulled down towards the ground when she hit Ron with the pommel of her sword, knocking him backwards.

"Focus," Sensei said as he watched, "Do not allow openings such as that happen. Anticipate your opponent's moves and react to them before they happen."

Ron swerved around the next two swings, ducking and tumbling behind her and attacked from behind, though the blow was blocked. He followed up by swinging his leg like a hook to pull her to the floor, tripping her up. He leapt backwards as she tried to swing low to trip him, giving her time to get back up. The two crashed into each other again, the wooden blades becoming weaker and weaker each time they met in the adrenaline pumped duel.

Ron parried high and felt a cruel blow land on his thigh, causing him to recoil as he realized the family jewels had almost been pounded by a hit. He shouted in pain, "Ow ow _ow!_" as he hopped, dodging the follow up blows before he decided enough was enough and swung as hard as he could into the next swing by his opponent.

The two wooden swords met one last time before they snapped in half, the broken ends sailing away into the roof of the small gazebo they were dueling in before dropping back down.

"That is enough, rest." Sensei said. After that, Ron pulled the protective face mask off as his opponent did the same, the two wearing black colored padding over the white outfits they wore. He offered his hand.

"Nice fighting, Yori,"

"Thank you, Stoppable-san," she answered as she shook, inclining her head respectfully. Ron returned it as the two went in opposite directions, Ron sitting down next to Rufus. The naked mole rat looked up and him and snickered.

"What?" Ron asked with narrowed eyes, "Are my pants at my ankles or something? I'm not even…" He paused, glancing down and realized that while the robes he was wearing didn't collapse, the _underwear_ he had on beneath did. He felt his cheeks burn red hot as he glanced around and tried to slip away quietly, pulling them back up and trying to hold them together between his legs as he went towards his room to get a fresh pair.

XX

**3:02 PM Pacific Time**

**HenchCo Facility**

**Northshore, Washington**

Back at the Henchlympics, Kim had slipped the things she swiped to the other GJ agents as Hench had called her up personally for a 'job well done'. She was standing outside his door now and knocked, the door opening to his office. She'd been there once before, when he called her four years ago in regards to his molecular muscle enhancers, but this time it was Hench and, to her surprise, Dementor. "Come in, come in," Hench said as he gestured her to a seat in front of his desk. "We've been waiting on the prodigy."

Relief shot through as she realized the cover was still holding, but something hiding in the back of her mind told her it was probably a trap, like a sixth sense it was warning her to be careful. She sat down in the chair, sitting next to Dementor as Hench stood. "Now then. Sarah, you've been doing extremely well. Without powers you've bested those with and you've even done it without using any gadgets like our new Sapper devices…"

"Ahem." Dementor coughed.

"… provided by Professor Dementor, of course," Hench added. "Now, you know that the policy of HenchCo is to _provide_ henchmen, so it has to come to pass with you. Professor Dementor is quite willing to take you on, and is paying for genetic enhancements to make it even easier for you to tackle heroes. In fact, if there's a henchwoman who'd stand a chance against Kim Possible, I'd say you're a pretty good shot."

Kim's lips pursed as she was doing everything she could to avoid laughing at the situation's irony. Here she, Kim Possible, was talking with the most notorious arms dealer of supervillain equipment and the (previously) foremost mad scientist, and they were talking of _hiring_ her. She answered, "Taking on the cheerleader, huh? That costs extra, you know. Most henchmen don't sign up to get beaten by her."

Hench chuckled, though Dementor didn't find it amusing, the mad scientist saying, "I vill not take insolence in ze henchmen. You'd best learn to KEEP ZHAT TO YOURSELF!"

Hench glanced between the two, "Well, this is spur of the moment discussions. Why don't we return to the Henchlympics soon and ponder the offer. I believe you're first in the holo-duel, Sarah."

Kim nodded as she sarcastically answered, "Yeah, that ought to be enjoyable." She looked to Dementor, "In seriousness, the offer sounds like something I could take, but as mister Hench here said, it's spur of the moment now."

Dementor nodded slowly, "Zhen we'll talk later."

XX

**One Hour Later**

**4:04 PM Pacific Time**

**Henchlympics Award Ceremony**

No one had managed to beat the simulator duel, though it was whispered amongst the crowd that the mysterious 'Sarah' was closest. Bonnie knew it now: She knew that this Sarah lady was more than she seemed. She was in a front row seat with Junior as they watched the award ceremony with Hench himself handing the medals to the teams. 'Sarah' and one of the other men in her team were representing themselves. They were sitting towards the back, the expo to the side of the large arrangement of seats in front of the podium, Hench's main building behind the expo from where she was.

"In first place, Team C from HenchCo." Jack Hench stated as he handed the medals to them before moving onto Dementor's team, the secretary holding the silver medals handing them to Hench. Bonnie was watching Sarah closely. The red hair flowed _far_ too familiarly to here. Hench was onto the third place, the WEE team. Bonnie knew it as she saw the green eyes and a casual grin. Hench continued, "And congratulations to all participants…"

"_That chick's Kim Possible!_" Bonnie shouted as loudly as she could, pointing a finger at 'Sarah'. She had finally realized was Kim and she wanted to make sure people _knew it_. The entire crowd stopped, a _feather_ could be heard dropping as the entire crowd paused, turning and looking towards the podium. Most of the crowd was stunned at the accusation, but Hench and Dementor simply grinned to each other.

XX

Kim knew the fight was about to happen and gave Duquette a faint nod. Hench walked up and looked at her, ripping the goggles off. "Hah, fooled you, cheerleader."

"Shame on me, let's see if you can pull it again," Kim answered before knocking Hench away with a powerful uppercut, knocking his head up and sending him off the podium as henchmen swarmed the area, all of them shouting various taunts and threats. Duquette and the GJ agents slipped away in the confusion and Kim lost sight of them. She knew what they were doing: Getting themselves clear with what Kim recovered, she was drawing the ire of every villain and henchmen present. She took a moment to get a stack of all the odds and decided it was nothing unusual for her, just a gauntlet of _every_ villain she'd ever faced short of a few who either weren't there (in case of Drakken and Shego) or were no longer with them (in the case of Monkey Fist).

A group of henchmen charged her with shock staves. Kim ducked under the first one's swing and kicked him aside easily, beating the following four down to the floor with punches. Another one charged, but Kim simply grabbed his arm as he swung a punch and hurled him into a line of henchmen.

"_FORE!_" shouted Duff Killigan as he hit a wide array of exploding golf balls in her direction. Kim leapt into the air spinning, the balls speeding past her and riddling Agent Alpha and the WEE henchmen as well as a group of Dementor's, the _Balmung_ armor one of them was wearing almost melted away in the cascade of explosions as the non-lethal yields detonated. Kim smirked as she leg swept another henchman and knocked him off the podium. She turned as Gill roared and charged her, muck flying about as he charged and landing on nearby henchmen (whom shouted in disgust) and knocking Killigan aside with his large, clawed hand. Kim rolled to the side as Gill closed, the aberrant mutant overshooting and falling off the podium onto his face with a crunch.

"You ain't getting away, cheerleader!" sneered Lucent, Dementor's super with light based powers. Kim sighed and grabbed a nearby henchman, hurling him into the super since she didn't have time to deal with him. She leapt off the podium as two jetpack equipped henchmen with steam punk style gas masks jetted onto the stage. Rolling forward as she landed and knocking over a villain looking like something out of Wade's (horrifically large) stash of comic books, she came up next to an expo on Hench's grenades. Grabbing one labeled 'Cryogenic Isolator', she hurled it at a dozen henchmen charging at her, the spherical device exploding into a block of ice and freezing the dozen in place faster than Pop Pop Porter's _cryovater_ device. Two WEE henchmen charged from behind and Kim grabbed another grenade with a label 'Itsy-Bitsy-Spider', a mass of entangling and sticky webs bursting from it and entangling the group.

"That the best you've got?" Kim asked tauntingly as she saw Dementor's henchmen charging. The first one was regular and nothing special; all Kim had to do was kick him in the face while back flipping over a red energy ray from a villain in a dark grey hoodie that looked like he was part of some cult. The next one of Dementor's henchmen managed to hit Kim and knock her back, but she counterattacked quickly, rolling under him and knocking him over before leaping to an uppercut on the henchman following. She spotted one of Dementor's grenadiers twirling a pair of grenades before he threw one at her, but he was standing too close to the cheese-themed concession stand. Kim leapt into the air and kicked the grenade back, which exploded and set off the array of blue and yellow dairy, covering the henchman in the stuff.

A sonic boom pulsed across the room and caught Kim in the gut, sending her flying backwards until she crashed into a mannequin displaying a new suit of armor intended for henchmen. Ignoring the chest pain while briefly rubbing the back of her head, Kim gasped as saw Agent Alpha charging at her. With a predatory smile forming on her lips as she remembered her cover was blown, Kim dodged the follow up burst and went all out on the WEE super. If she was watching it, she suspected she'd of turned away to avoid the sight.  
XX

Watching from nearby, Duquette whistled briefly; _Damn, I love cat fights…_

Kim grappled with the WEE super, grabbing and pulling on her hair as the two were kicking each other in a frenzy. The entire fight seemed to stop, one henchman asking his friend if he had any popcorn to share. Hench was growling, Gill and Killigan rubbing their wounds, Dementor and Gemini were both moving in onto Kim's flank…

He didn't hesitate and grabbed the nearest shock staff on display, firing a burst into the crowd before dropping it and hurrying away. A random mercenary with an M-14 rifle collapsed as he was shot in the back by the stun shot, and the crowd went ballistic.

XX

Kim kicked Alpha into the crowd as the entire mob began to riot properly, Hench's voice barely audible in the din: _"Just get Possible and there'll be a lifetime discount to the one that nabs her!"_

Kim heard the sound of rockets flying and was barely able to avoid a miniature missile that exploded. Spotted Gemini grinning manically as he fired them off as fast as his cybernetic hand could reload, he was causing more damage to the assorted devices in display than he was Kim as she used her experience in dodging those kinds of projectiles to avoid the bursts. _Feels like tryouts,_ she decided as she flipped between a pair of horizontal shock staves set like uneven bars almost exactly like she had to for her tryout onto the Middleton Cheer Squad, right before her first mission.

A blast of energy sailed over her head as she landed, Dementor shooting a plasma pistol at her, shouting, "_I will get your battle suit!_"

"Not today!" Kim answered as she grabbed a bowl of some soup and sent it flying at the mad scientist, catching him in the chest and blowing him backwards onto his back. She ducked as Gill began spitting his muck at her as she made her way towards the exit, a long haul. Dodging Gill's blast, Killigan's exploding golf balls, finger missiles from Gemini, and much more wasn't as easy as it probably looked. An explosion from a golf ball kicked bits of shrapnel at her and cut her forehead, a brief flash of pain leaving her blind for a moment. A few superpowered villains were now charging her, glowing body parts and all. She glanced at the expo she was next to and smiled when she realized she was next to a display of sappers. Quickly disposing of the henchman who was guarding it with a nerve strike, she grabbed one and pointed it at Lucent, who was spearheading the charge. _I got five shots,_ Kim knew as there were only five sappers and she didn't know the recharge time. She fired, the burst of red-tinted white energy speeding forth and hitting Lucent, the Canadian super screaming in pain as he collapsed to the ground and slid forward a few feet, curling into a fetal position in pain.

Pushing disturbing thoughts of possible permanent damage, she moved to the next sapper and hit Alpha, sending her to the floor. They were closing fast, and Kim fired the third, hitting a super with a pink glow of some sorts, the energy burst refracting off of the glow and hitting the other two supers, staggering them. _Huh, this guy has some sort of barrier!_ she thought quickly as she leapt at him as he was only a few meters away. Beating him down quickly, she effortlessly took care of the other two weakened supers, leaving the group nothing but a mess on the ground. Giving Hench a mock salute she shouted "Thanks for the sappers!"

Another henchman charged as she moved towards the exit again, behind Junior, Bonnie, and an unknown Spaniard mercenary. Kim grabbed the henchman and flipped him away easily before turning to Junior and his new accomplice, Junior holding his pistol at her as Bonnie smirked mockingly, "Light's out, Kim."

Junior fired, but Kim ducked under the blast and leapt at the young villain, grabbing him by his shirt and hurling him towards the mercenary, the two tumbling into Bonnie, who screamed angrily as they were left in a pile with Bonnie at the bottom of it. Kim smirked, mockingly saying "Oops," before moving on towards the exit, but the delay cost her.

More henchmen swarmed in, prompting Kim to fight them in a flurry of punches, kicks, uppercuts, leg sweeps, judo throws, nerve strikes, and enough acrobatics to make Jackie Chan whistle. One of Dementor's heavy henchmen charged in his _Balmung_ armor, prompting Kim to leap and kick him in the face before hurling one of Hench's henchmen into him, the two landing in a rough pile. Dozens of shock staves went off like the band playing _1812 Overture_, only to miss as Kim soared into the air and landed on top of an expo of some triple barreled laser cannon labeled _'Apocalypse in Triplicate'_. The clear-plastic roof over it held, but a few bursts hitting the doomsday device and caused it to overload and explode. The blast covered the entire site in smoke as Kim was blinded and launched into the air, her senses quickly failing as she lost track of everything after being right above such an explosion, her senses seared blind.

XX

Bonnie, having untangled herself from that _insulting_ pile, ducked under the table with Junior and his mercenary Mark Cañar as the device exploded. Shielding her flawless facial skin from the blast with her hands, everything quieted as the smoke rolled over. Junior was saying something in Spanish to Mark, who answered likewise something that sounded like doubtfulness. The smoke began to clear after a minute and Bonnie poked her head up, looking towards the exhibit. There was no sign of Kim.

"She... she dies?" asked the henchwoman who fired the fatal burst from her shock staff, staring down at her weapon and the smoking remains of the explosion. The entire convention of villainy was quiet, staring in there. The mad Scotsman called Killigan dropped his golf club, staring like a statue while Dementor and Gemini both moved closer with a squad of henchmen to verify. Hench himself was looking at the henchwoman still in his employ before coughing into his hands.

"Well," Hench said from behind most of the crowd, "I think we better make sure she's dead before we call it."

The henchmen moved up, cautiously approaching the area as if they were moving towards an armed thermonuclear warhead in the megaton yield, apprehensive and fearfully. Gemini held his finger rockets active while Dementor pulled out a scanner, scanning the wreckage. The Mathter was punching numbers into a calculator rapidly with sadistic glee, going off into hundreds of math related puns involving logarithms and other such nonsense as he calculated the chances of Kim surviving. "Clear," Dementor then said as his scan finished, "No signs of life. Ze cheerleader is gone."

"_Not forgotten,_" said a female voice and everyone turned towards Hench, where it came from. The hench-dealer gasped as he turned around, Bonnie swearing loudly as she saw just _who_ was standing behind him.

XX

Kim kicked Hench off the podium he was standing on, knocking him easily ten meters across into the crowd and broke into a full run towards the exit. Every step hurt and shot pain through her skeleton, but she had to escape. She barely survived her landing by grappling with the nearby building and sliding it down, the smoke screen having covered her movements as she managed to land behind Jack Hench. _Thank God for luck,_ she thought gratefully as she dodged a shock staff blast from the henchwoman who _almost_ became the killer of Kim (_fucking_) Possible. "Outta my way!" she shouted as she leapt over a pair of henchmen blocking her path, the two turning only to have the shock staff blasts from the crowd sail into them and stun them to the floor.

She was almost to the door and to freedom when it came crashing down as a security gate shut. Skidding to a halt, Wade was telling her all she needed to know over her radio: _"Hang on, I'll have that door open in a moment. Just dodge!"_

She did so, avoiding dozens of blasts from long range as the henchmen laid down every shock staff blast they could. No one dared charge towards her as the volley of fire was too inaccurate to risk mounting such an attack. She let her skills as a cheerleader take over, skills that had saved her life repeatedly.

She heard a hiss and the door opened to her escape route, the crowd howling as Kim sprinted inside and it shut behind her, blasts hitting the door and dissipating as Wade turned a security field on. _"Haha, that'll slow them down."_ Wade chuckled over the radio, _"Alright Kim, you're clear as far as I can tell. Just hurry and get to the evacuation point, ride's set."_

Kim keyed the radio, "Got it Wade;" she grunted from the pain, "Tell them to have some antiseptic ready, that blast _hurt_."

_"He's got some, don't worry."_

She hurried through the halls, following Wade's directions as she moved towards the air vent that would lead to her escape. Smiling as she found it, she pulled the vent open and climbed in, crawling out. _Good thing Hench never installed smaller ones, or this wouldn't work._ she thought as she hurried.

XX

Meanwhile, in the smoking remains of the Henchlympics, Jack Hench growled at the events. Not only had they _almost_ gotten Kim, she had somehow managed to give Wade Load full access into their systems, only a few isolated computers unaffected by the spikes now raging through. _That is going to set me back years,_ he grimly though as de Minion handed him a PDA with a list of damage to the research labs. The villains were walking around, discussing the entire fiasco with each other. Grim tones were predominant, dirty looks cast towards Hench.

Clearing his throat, he began to speak suavely, "Well then, it looks like Possible has done it again. With Global Justice's help. You all have felt the sting, now you need to make sure that it can't happen again. Tradition dictates such, no?"

The villains were looking around, nodding to each other in some cases, others already beginning their schemes. Hench continued, "I have here on this PDA a long enough list of crimes against HenchCo to see Global Justice destroyed and Kim Possible, speaking proverbially, hang from a tree. I will be offering copies of the data to any villain who thinks they can make use of it as a consolation to the effects of today's events. Now, as for the _**real**_ winners of the Henchlympics this year... _Professor Dementor!_"

Gemini scowled and gestured his men to follow him, the group walking towards a door that wouldn't open, leaving them stuck as Gemini began to howl at the henchmen over their failures. Dementor on the other hand grinned and gestured his henchmen up to be given their awards.

XX

**Twenty Minutes Later**

**GJ Rendezvous Point**

**Near HenchCo's Main Facility**

Kim limped up the hill as the group of four _Bradley_ APC's turned their engines on, one of the doors opening and Captain Duncan walked out. "Ah, Miss Possible!"

"Captain Duncan?" Kim asked in surprise, "I thought you were stationed down in Nevada."

"Transferred up her on a cycle; we got a call that you might need quick evac, so we figured we'd return the favor after the way you pulled the Gauss tank out of Dementor's hands."

"No big," Kim answered with a shrug, "Just synthos."

The captain smiled as one of the medics came by and helped Kim into the APC, checking the burns she'd received from the explosion. The process took a couple minutes and the APC convoy began to drive away as the medic did so casually as she was in no real danger at the time and the burns were not serious.

"Alright," the medic said, "those burns are going to hurt, but once I apply the antiseptic you ought to be alright. Still, don't try to overwork yourself."

Kim thanked him, then glanced around. She was supposed to get her usual gadgets back after she escaped…

"Looking for these?" asked a man in HenchCo purple, holding her backpack and handing it over. He smiled and removed the head piece of the suit, revealing it was Duquette. The agent smiled, "We got out just fine, nice job drawing their attention. We even made off with one of Hench's sapper copies."

"You did?" Kim asked as she pulled her Kimmunicator out and Wade appeared on it, grinning.

"_They did. GJ should be able to use it to start developing the sapper again."_ Wade explained, _"Good to speak face to face again. So, how bad are the burns?"_

"Nothing unusual," Kim answered, "It'll just be a bit sore, mind how much I jump around, the usual."

Wade nodded, _"Well, we gave Hench a kick in the pants. How'd Bonnie realize it was you?"_

"Time and your natural abilities, I'd say," Duquette answered, "There's few red heads that can pull off the stunts you can. Two and two to those who know you personally. Also, Doctor Director is on the line."

The GJ leader appeared on the screen, sharing it with Wade, _"Affirmative. Miss Possible. There's good news and bad news."_

Kim groaned as she felt déjà vu from other times she'd given such news.

"_First, I'm disappointed that your cover was blown. It will raise some ruckus considering the damages dealt to HenchCo and we may have some legal actions by Jack Hench attempted. Given he's managed to keep his actions with a general shred of legality, it gives him some ground."_

"He hasn't pressed charges against me, and I've lifted plenty from him before." Kim pointed out, "I'm not worried."

"_That leads to the good news. Mister Load has lifted Hench's entire database and transferred it. We now have a full list of his dealings, but will need time to decrypt his codes, they are well designed. Hopefully we can find enough to hang him."_ The older woman paused as Kim gave her a frown, _"I was being proverbial."_

"Right," Kim said, shaking her head. "Anything else, Doctor Director?"

"_Negative. Head on home, and thank Captain Duncan for providing an exfiltration lift."_

The link ended, Wade taking the whole screen again. "So, Wade, what's the ride sitch for home?"

"_GJ's providing it, since Duquette and his team need to return to base as well."_

Kim nodded; the relative comfort of GJV-38 hovercraft wasn't something she sneered at, regardless of the competence of Global Justice's agents. She leaned back and closed her eyes, letting the adrenaline that was in her system phase out. It left her tired, but something was nagging at her. She didn't know what.

XX

**HenchCo Facility**

"Ze Mass Neural Compliance Ray," Dementor said with a smile to Myron, "Is now _mine_!"

Myron nodded, "Should be useful, yes?"

"Very. Vith zhis device, we can control und order _all WHO OPPOSE US!_" He laughed maniacally as he walked towards the device, powering it on…

As it powered, large bursts of electricity shot across it like a lightning storm, the controls sparking before exploding and spraying shrapnel at the henchman who was manning it. The henchman was alright and leapt clear, but he was hurt. Dementor was confused at what was going on, _this_ was not in the advertisement!

Suddenly, the machine glowed red and Dementor realized what was about to happen. "TAKE COVER!" he shouted, diving away as the entire machine _**exploded**_, a small mushroom cloud coming from the wreckage despite the fact it wasn't nuclear in any sense of the term.

Ears howling with noise as he pushed himself up, he roared long and loud as he was foiled: "_**NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**_!"

It echoed across the county.

XX

**GJ Evacuation Group**

**50 Miles from HenchCo Facility**

"Wade," Kim asked as she remembered, "What about the Neural Compliance Ray? Did we keep Dementor from getting the grand mass?"

"_Don't worry about it,"_ Wade said innocently. That immediately raised warning flags in her mind. Leaning closer to the screen she asked:

"Tell me, Wade. I need to know. If Dementor has mass mind control…" a few US soldiers in the APC were looking her way as if she was crazy.

"_Don't worry, Dementor won but he won't get the ray."_

"Why? I thought Dementor would get the grand mass of victories once the charade was revealed."

Wade sighed, _"I set the MNCR to overload. If Dementor powers it up, it'll overload and self destruct."_

Kim smirked, imagining Dementor's reaction when his new collection in his (vaguely) disturbing collection of technophilia exploded on him. "Remind me never to get on your bad side, Wade."

He took a humble bow, smiling like a madman, "_Yours truly. I love my handiwork."_

"So do I," Kim agreed, "See you back in Middleton."

She thought she heard a shout, but she couldn't be sure as they drove away.

XXX

**Drakken's Tech Lab**

**Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

Drakken turned from his work on a Destructobot's plasma cannon as the door opened, Shego walking in and holding her flash drive in her hand and a cylindrical power source in the other. "Take a look at this, Doc," she said as she plugged it in. Images came up of both the cylindrical device and of images Drakken had only seen twice before.  
"Wait, this arsenal held lorwardian tech?" Drakken asked in surprise before doing a little jig, "Wonderful!"

"There's more; I beat down one of GJ's new _Specter_ agents who followed me there."

"They as badass as the rumors say?" Drakken asked, worried. Villainous chat rooms and forums had made mention of unknown GJ badasses walking around and ruining plans when they thought they'd have a clear shot with Kim busy handling something else, but most dismissed it as rumor and someone trying to scare the competition down.

"Not by a long shot." Shego answered with a derisive snort, "They'd slow Kimmie down, but they'd be beaten apart all the same."

Drakken nodded, glancing at the cylinder. "Isn't that an alien power device?"

"Think it is. You've seen it before?" Shego asked as she placed it on an unused lab table.

"That oxygen depletor thingamajig had one of those, when erm… those days." Drakken awkwardly explained, remembering the difficulty explaining that he'd replaced Shego with a nine-foot tall alien Amazon. _In my defense,_ Drakken had reassured himself then, _she was on vacation when it went down and left me in jail._

"Well, turns out Venuchi's got her staff weapon. Some scavenger managed to recover it from Tri-City, sold it to Big Daddy, who sold it to said mad scientist."

Drakken snorted, "Giacomo Venuchi is just a kid with a lab who plays with forces beyond his comprehension. We can take the weapon no problem, I'd like to reverse engineer that weapon for our own use."

"Got the AI bugs worked out?" Shego asked, gesturing to the Destructobot arm he was working on.

"No," Drakken answered, "But I'm close. Synthodrone 848 was able to get two out of ten hits earlier… before he shot himself in the head."

Shego shrugged, "Well, I need a bath. We going out tonight, or we eating at the lair?"

"Eating at the lair, I think. There's some leftovers in the fridge. The cold fusion one I was working on."

"It's the _only_ one we have," Shego reminded him with a sly smirk, "You're too cheap for a regular refrigerator."

XX

**The Next Morning**

**1:04 AM**

**July 27th, 2007**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim (wearing casual clothes now) drove the Sloth up into the garage and parked, getting out and looking around. She had slept on the flight home. It all seemed to be quiet that night. As she looked out of the garage and shut it, walking into the house itself. Glancing around, she frowned as she realized that no one was home. Moving back to the Sloth she grabbed the night vision goggles, slipping them on and walking around, noticing a note as she came into the kitchen. Frowning, she read it.

_Kim,_

_We had a termite issue and had to call the exterminator while you were gone. We should be back in the morning, but we're at the Stoppable house. Don't worry, the spray isn't lethal (to humans, at least)._

She sighed as she grabbed it and walked back to the Sloth, wondering if she should drive to Ron's house. She frowned as she glanced at the dashboard clock; _Nah, not worth it._ She decided as she sat in the car and leaned the seat back, sleep coming to her easily.

Or so she thought; after what felt like twenty minutes she heard something. A loud _bang_ sent Kim jolting upright. She whirled around in the seat, putting the night vision goggles on again and she saw a fresh dent in the garage door. Snatching the shock stick from her pack and holstering her grappling hook, she opened the door. Quickly getting out of the car, she ran to the side door and opened it. A group of men were charging with a battering ram, one shouting "Come on, move it! They'll be back in the morning!"

"_Hey!_" Kim shouted, drawing the shock stick and aiming it at them. The turned towards her, surprised. They didn't look like your usual drunks; they all wore two armbands in a pattern, black and red. They dropped the battering ram as they saw her.

"_Get her!_" the leader shouted and the group grabbed a variety of weapons, two drawing pistols. Kim fired the shock stick at the nearest one with a pistol, the man shouting and collapsing before he could take the safety off. She leapt into the air to the garage's roof, bullets trailing behind and car alarms going off in the night. Dogs barked loudly as the disturbance was heard. As she landed on the roof she saw the other one with the pistol trying to reload. Leaping down, she crashed onto him and knocked him against the pavement, pistol sailing into the night. A mob member charged with a bat, but Kim easily knocked the weapon aside and hurled him into the others, tangling them up. She leapt towards the leader, who had a torch in his hands. He swung at her with it, but it was hopeless. She easily knocked it away onto the pavement and kicked him in the chest.

"Retreat!" shouted one of the mob members and the group ran for their lives. The leader groaned, and Kim put a foot on his chest, scowling at him. He looked like the usual as far as henchmen went, just without a uniform of sorts.

The police arrived shortly after, Officer Hobble coming out while the other policeman with him cuffed the leader and pulled him away. "What happened here?" he asked.

"Some guys were trying to force an entry," Kim answered, yawning as how tired she was took hold again now the adrenaline burst was over and died down. "They all had armbands, black and red. Worn in some pattern."

Hobble swore, "That'd be the Iron Claws. They showed up two nights ago in Lowerton, hit a few residences before disappearing with only stragglers left behind. Looks like they moved up to Middleton. But why attack your house, that's suicide."

"I dunno, probably figure they could find something worth selling to the paparazzi while I was out." Kim commented, "Or someone hired them. Any idea where they're based?"

"None. LPD busted their hideout down there, but they disappeared baring a few left behind. If you find them, let us know so we can get them."

"You'll have to beat me to it," Kim answered darkly, "They just attacked my house and if my family was in there they'd of hurt them."

"Just make sure not to kill them, we need to interrogate."

"I don't kill, Officer Hobble. You know that."

He nodded slowly, pursing his lips and giving her a meaningful look. She wasn't sure why he was giving that look to her, but something in the back of her mind was worried. Hobble and the other officer called in someone to tow the battering ram away and drove off, Kim returning inside. It took a while for her to fall asleep.

XX

**Nine Hours Later**

**Possible Residence**

**10:21 AM**

"_What happened to the garage?"_ someone shouted outside as a car drove into the driveway. Kim leaned up from where she was sleeping in the Sloth, glancing at the dashboard. _Wow, I sure slept in,_ she realized as she got out of the car as the garage door opened despite the dent. She saw her parents and the Tweebs driving in, her father looking angry as he got out.

"Hey dad, mom," Kim said as the rest of them got out.

"Morning, Kimmie," her father said, scowling towards the garage, "Know what happened?"

"Some vandals," she answered, "Showed up a bit after I got back and woke me up with a battering ram. Officer Hobble took it away as it was evidence."

"Did you get them?"

"Not yet," Kim explained, "Apparently they hit Lowerton a few times. Going to ask Wade to start checking…"

_Beep beep be-beep._

"I think he's on top of it," her mother commented, "Come on Jim, Tim, let's get inside. Just remember, Kim, the exhibit at the Tri-City Museum is tomorrow."

"Got it, Mom!" she answered. As the four went inside, Kim answered Wade. "What's the sitch?"

"_I got a lock on the Iron Claws; they've set up a small camp near the Lake."_

Kim frowned; that wasn't a very stealthy position to hide. "Any idea what they're packing?"

"_Not much; looks to me like just a group of hellions trying to make a quick buck and take advantage of the chaos. Nothing super powered about them, so you won't have much to deal with."_

"I'm on my way," Kim said, "Soon as I get geared up. Battle suit ready?"

"_It is. Willing to risk the BSR?"_ Wade asked as she walked inside and up towards her room.

"They could of hurt my family, I'm going in hard."

Wade nodded, "_Jim and Tim should have it, they were helping me with modifications yesterday."_

XX

**Global Justice Headquarters**

**Somewhere under the Tri-City Area**

Doctor Director frowned as the screen materialized. Atton Williams appeared, "_Doctor Director, ma'am."_

"Operative Williams. What happened? We lost your signal."

"_I encountered Shego out here and tried to detain her as per orders. She managed to escape and left me for dead."_

Doctor Director frowned; she expected Dementor's men to be in the area, not Shego. _Still, it's alien technology. None are cleared for it short of Area 51 and a few designated others._ "What was in there?"

"_Some sort of alien power source, ma'am. I also overheard the computer talking about one of the alien's staff weapons in the hands of one Giacomo Venuchi."_

"Com, get me the information on this Giacomo Venuchi."

"Yes ma'am." The computer officer said as he typed, reading the data: "Italian nationality, lives in northern Italy at a small lab in the Italian Alps. Recently applied to Italian PBD to work for them, but was rejected. No criminal record and seems to be a mad scientist with a sense of morality."

Doctor Director frowned; PBD was willing to hire known villains but wouldn't hire a mad scientist who was willing to work within ethical standards? That was confusing to her. "Understood, send Agent Talleyrand down there to speak to him about the weapon and see if we can't acquire it before someone else manages to beat us there. Operative Williams, are you capable of traveling to Italy?"

"_Yes ma'am, but I'll need to resupply. Both my weapons were destroyed during the struggle and my armor's down to forty percent efficiency from plasma strikes and clawing."_

"Understood, we'll have a new set waiting for you in Paris." She said, "Get moving."

"_Yes ma'am! Operative Williams out."_ The transmission ended, and Doctor Director sighed. Shego was one of the few that were expected to regularly hand _Specter-_class operatives their own behinds. Coupling this with the hit on Brigadier General Gary "Pinpoint" Townes laser development base, which was assigned to experiment with the alien plasma technology, concluded to her that Drakken and Shego would need to be incarcerated sometime soon.

XX

**Twenty Minutes Later**

**Near Lake Middleton**

Suited up in the battle suit, Kim parked at the place Wade had suggested and got out, checking her suit and powering it on. She felt the boosts take hold, enhancing her physical abilities. Wade had warned that most of the advanced systems were still offline. She had the usual boosts, but otherwise the only other function the battle suit had was its nanite regeneration and the plasma shield_. More than I need,_ Kim thought as she shut the car door and moved towards the lake. Wade had given her the coordinates, and now it was time for payback and for her to clean house. In the battle suit's holster was her grappling hook and next to the holster she had her shock stick. In her pocket was her knock out gas and compact. A few of the Tweebs' flash bang grenades hung off the other side of the belt.

_Beep beep be-beep._

"Go, Wade."

"_Kim, I'm detecting an unusual energy signature in the compound. Keep alert, it's a lot like those Conclave goons you've fought."_

Kim nodded, "Let's see how they like the battle suit then. They'll be in for a surprise." She walked towards the small compound she could make out in the distance, a smirk on her face.

XX

**End Chapter**

*** And thus concludes the Henchlympics subplot. Hope you enjoyed it.**

*** Those who haven't read my 4-shot fic **_**Number Two**_** probably won't recognize Atton Williams, the GJ **_**Specter**_**-class operative that Shego beat the snot out of. I'd advise reading **_**Number Two**_** if you have time to do so. Gives Will Du a day in the limelight and deconstructs the poor red, erm, blue shirt.**

*** Bonnie deserved what she got. Little [censored] does all sorts of things like cheating and gets away scot free, so I give Kim an excuse to humiliate Bonnie and give her a reminder of Kim's skills. Hey, Bonnie **_**backs down**_**, erm, dissolves into tears at the prospect of fighting Kim.**

*** In regards to Kim's display of badass, I direct your attention to **_**Grande Size Me**_**, where Kim pretty much fights every villain in Hench's expo and comes out on top. Half of which have some form of super power or magic, plus all their henchmen. But to be realistic, Kim just held her own for a few minutes before escaping, I personally doubt she'd be able to beat them all in an all-at-once attack from every villain she's faced. Well, maybe she could but I doubt she'd be walking for a while afterwards.**

*** As for Hench... all I have to say is he's an arms dealer. Though for those who like the character, I'd recommend you to DoofusPrime's piece **_**Business, Pleasure**_**. A well written one-shot on Hench that I'd fully encourage any KP fan to read.**

*** I tried to do research into 'Tri-Lithium' (which the KP wiki states is the power cell for the Kimmunicator), but far as I can tell it's a fictional compound, so why not have it explosive? Lithium is an alkali metal anyways, reacts with just about anything. Besides, MacGyvering a bomb is a classic staple of action-adventure.**

*** For the curious, Duquette is named after a character of same name in **_**Command and Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight**_**. Say what you will about the game, I liked that guy. A one scene wonder. I'd take him over Col. James as the dude giving me orders **_**any**_** day.**

*** Without further adieu, the in-universe document. A look at every villain's favorite weapon: Boom sticks.**

**-=In-Universe Document: "Staff Weaponry"=-**

_Source: - "A Terran Guide Arsenals of the Galaxy, Part I" _by_ Armand Blade, _published in 2039

_"Staff weapons, going by a variety of names from 'shock staff' to 'boom stick', are an interesting staple of weaponry. Based on the concept of a spear that can shoot a projectile, these kinds of weapons have remained an oddity. They are inferior in ranged combat to rifles, but they are superior in melee combat and depending on the user can give a great advantage. They are predominantly used amongst lorwardian warriors who favor the weapon over rifles due to the fact that their size and strength makes them ill suited for shooting matches. Humans are the second and at that point practically final user of staff weaponry as they had gained popularity amongst henchmen working for assorted villains and were utilized by synthodrones during the Dominion War."_

_"Human staff weapons are mostly old relics at this point in time, leftovers from the pre-Dominion and Dominion eras. During the pre-Dominion era they were used by henchmen as a weapon of choice due to the minimal proficiency required to use them in comparison to proper guns. Eventually Drew Lipski, better known by his alias "Doctor Drakken", managed to create a synthodrone AI program that would allow it to make use of ranged weapons, a vast leap in comparison to the previous animal-like intellect they possessed baring personal and costly modifications. Shock staves saw a short time when they were potentially going to be employed by some military organizations to handle bullet-proofed supers, but such was shelved relatively early in development due to less melee-based options becoming available. Regardless, synthodrones used by the Dominion used shock staves for the duration of the war as they were cheap and easy to mass produce in the field, cheaper than rifles as it did not call for as advanced a program to use. Aiding this was the reverse engineering of a captured lorwardian staff weapon salvaged from the events of the First Lorwardian Invasion of Earth. However, the inaccuracy of these weapons was highlighted as it often required mass firing to be effective in ranged combat."_

_"Lorwardian staff weapons, on the other hand, are still in use by their military forces and are much more developed, holding an important place in their warrior culture. The weapons' origins within their society was an advanced spear-based weapon in their pre-industrial days designed by the lorwardian inventor known by his war name 'Blastspear' approximately six hundred years ago. Blastspear built his unique staff weapon using a gunpowder add-on as a one-shot ranged weapon. Although he toyed with the concept of guns in the traditional sense of the term, the lorwardians eventually simplified to staff weapons due to a mix of cultural favoring to melee combat and the fact that such did not allow them to make use of their immense strength. Within the next hundred-fifty years and the discovery of plasma weaponry, the modern lorwardian staff weapon had been developed. Unlike human staff weapons, they carry several specialized abilities. These includes a specialized charge mode designed to break plasma shields and kinetic barriers, variable-setting energy blasts, redirection capability when used properly, and the ability to pack up into a much smaller size for transport. They are often personalized by the warrior who wields them, but they are all made to the same standard at factory production until personalized. No warrior leaves home without their staff weapon baring those who favor the use other weapons and it is considered a rite of passage to receive their first staff weapon. Few try to convince the lorwardians otherwise as they know that their choice of weapon reflects their favor of melee combat and their considerable strength."_

_"Despite the versatility offered by the weapon, it remains a curious oddity rather than another rack in the galactic armory despite its usage amongst one of the prominent species of the galaxy. They are not dangerous in the hands of most, but in the hands of a trained user or one who knows the subtle strengths of the weapon it is as dangerous as a modern rifle, energy gauntlet, or tech weapon. Going by many names, staff weaponry is a cross of the weapons of yore and the modern armaments of modern battlefields, and is no less dangerous in the right hands."_


	13. Chapter 13: Flurry

_"One thing that probably would have helped a lot in the aftermath of Graduation would of been a unified chain of command. The departmental differences between PBD, law enforcement, Global Justice, freelancers like me, and military forces slowed down communications and caused coordination problems. If it was one force with a clear chain of command where everyone had a spot in that food chain, we might of done a better job. No, we would have done a better job. We'd of had a clear chain of command, areas would of been covered in jurisdictions, rapid response would of been available. Something like that 'GDI' in those games Wade play, maybe. Ah heck, Global Justice seems to be similar, just not as militaristic."_

- Kim Possible on a major problem in the aftermath of Graduation and maintaining the peace, as recorded in her _Liber Memoriarum_

_"The alien staff weapon? Certainly, Operative Williams. I understand. [...] Technically speaking, operative, dealing with alien tech is only illegal in the United States, but I understand why Global Justice is concerned. I'll give the staff weapon up, though I would like some compensation in regards to it given the trade of alien technology is legal within Italy. [...] Here, this is the security key to the staff weapon. I've done some tests on it if GJ wants the data I've gathered from it."_

- Giacomo Venuchi, Italian mad scientist, to GJ _Specter_ Operative Atton Williams in regards to Warmonga's staff weapon.

**Chapter 13: Flurry**

**Iron Claw Hideout**

**Lake Middleton**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim leapt into the compound and threw the nearest Iron Claw gang member into a tent, the man shouting as he crashed into it and fell atop of the men sleeping inside. The entire compound became a frenzy of activity as they realized they were under attack. One of them grabbed a pistol and opened fire, but she simply activated the suit's plasma shield and the lead bullets simply impacted the shield, vaporizing and decomposing into sparks flying away from her. The pistol wielding gang member swore as he tried to reload, but Kim just moved in close and slammed him into the ground.

"It's _Possible_!" shouted another gang member, "Take her down, _go go go!_"

Smirking as she turned around, she unpinned a flash bang grenade and threw it towards the group. It exploded into blinding light and deafened her, her ears screeching in pain from the burst. _Gotta start wearing ear protection if I'm going to use these,_ Kim thought as she parried the blows of another gang member and kicked him in the chest, the woman collapsing and curling on the ground. She charged another gang member and swiftly disposed of him; left, right, uppercut. He collapsed like a tree. The rest swarmed her, a frenzy of activity taking over as her instincts took over.

She became a whirling dervish of pain as she beat away every gang member trying to attack her. Brutal volleys of punches, precise kicks, men thrown left and right. To an observer, it would be a _massacre_ in all but lethality, to the probable disappointment of some Iron Claw gang members as they curled into fetal positions on the ground from the pain they were in trying to fight her. She beat down the last gang member after what was probably two minutes of violence. She cocked a thin smile at her handiwork with the battle suit's augmentations and moved on.

She saw the main tent and hurried over, two figures shouting inside.

"_What's the meaning of this!_" shouted an aristocratic man in the tent. Kim quickly guessed it was one of those 'Conclave' magic users. _"You said you're men would steal the designated things and not be found. But what's _that_ noise then!"_

"_Sounds like we've been found,"_ answered a rough and guttural man, likely the Iron Claw gang leader. _"How come you weren't able to sense it, huh? Isn't that why you wear that dress?"_

"_It. Is. A. __**ROBE!**_ _Get out there and deal with the intruder."_

Kim opened the tent and smiled, mockingly saying "Hello boys."

The two men turned. The aristocratic looking man was indeed wearing flowing robes with a cross black-red pattern on the chest, like a uniform put over something comfortable. He looked like the villain out of a 1780's American play: hook nosed, stiff faced, a pompous air to his movements, and the signs of too much invested in looks. Contrasting greatly was the Iron Claw gang leader, who looked like he was dropped repeatedly as a baby and his face was heavily scarred and he was mostly bald, to the point Kim briefly thought he ran headlong into a brick wall. _Or Brick Flagg,_ she added silently as she remembered how Brick could just absorb hits from people trying to tackle him. The aristocratic man frowned before asking, "Where did you get such a magical outfit?"

"Magic? You're looking at _tech_, not magic. You want magic, ask Ron." Kim answered with a smile as the aristocrat frowned like he had no idea what she was saying. The Iron Claw leader grabbed a shot gun and blasted her, but Kim already had the suit's plasma shield armed and the blue scintillating bubble flashed into existence, shrugging the 12 Gauge shotgun blast easily. She leapt forward, the shield dissipating as she did, and colliding into the gang leader, adrenaline surging and giving her all she needed to pound him into unconsciousness. She turned and smirked at the aristocratic man, who she guessed was some sort of mage.

"Insolent peasant," he snorted, "So you can beat a piece of common rabble. Let's see if you can face a fully realized spellcaster."

"What, like Thackeray? Beat him twice."

"Thackeray?" the mage asked with a frown before shaking his head, "Regardless, you will learn obedience and submit." He charged magic and hurled a pair of energy blasts at her. Kim dodged them, a handspring carrying her clear of the blasts which shot into the tent and broke holes into it. He growled and fired two more, but Kim just dodged again. _This is too easy; I don't even need the redirection gauntlet,_ she thought in amusement as she closed the distance and kicked the mage in the chest, knocking him backwards and sending him capsizing over a desk. He grunted from the blow and howled in pain, telling Kim that he was no experienced villain. He snarled at her and charged another piece of magic, rings of fire flowing around his arms and several bolts of fire shot towards her. She activated the plasma shield, honeycomb like flashes placing along the bubble as Wade's recent hardening took hold against the magical attack. The mage gasped, giving Kim enough time to draw the shock stick and blast him with a full charge. The mage grunted, a barrier flashing up to intercept it, but it failed to stop the electric burst and the man collapsed to the ground. Kim stepped forward and put her foot on his neck.

"I… will never surrender to a low born…"

"Wrong answer," Kim said and kicked him in the gut, the mage howling in pain. He thrashed at her, but she held on tight. A burst of energy then knocked her off of him, and he rose as more magic was forming at his finger tips. He blasted at her, but she pulled her compact out and intercepted the blast, the energy bolt redirecting back into him. A rune-engraved shield flashed around him, much like the plasma shield she was using earlier, though she wasn't surprised. _Ron said he knew that trick too,_ she recalled as she avoided an ice shard he hurled as he started switching the elements to his attack. He looked around at the documents on the desk he had capsized over earlier, and dived for them.

Kim followed and tackled him, the two rolling over past the desk, trying to hit each other. His hands glowed as he struck with actual force, but it was no more than a henchman's punch to her. _His magic can't boost him that much,_ her mind noted as she blocked the blows and hit back, each blow weakening him. She ended it with one last punch, knocking him unconscious. She smiled and rose, the mage sighing out as he lost consciousness. She turned towards the desk and picked up the documents, frowning. She recognized the lettering: Latin. _Alright… no, that's a deponent, not a passive…_ she thought as she translated what she could in her head, frowning.

To the best of her knowledge, it spoke of the _Liber Arcessere_ and that it needed to be recovered soon. That didn't surprise her, but oddly it spoke a warning of '_unusual weapons_' that were '_aberrant in nature, using magical attacks but not being so_' wielded by '_soldiers in blue cloth uniforms'_. But the last passage caught her attention more than anything else:

_Investigate the area known as Tri-City, it is said that it is a home of heroes, a heroine named Kim Possible in particular being notable. Find her and neutralize her, permanently. Capture if possible for study, our intelligence indicates that she may have unique talents._

A guttural grunt caught Kim's attention and she turned, shouting as she saw red foam coming from the mage's mouth. She ran over and knelt next to him, checking his pulse. There wasn't one. The man's eyes were glazing as he stared up and she looked at the foam again. It was as bloody as a sword wound in color, foaming murderously. _Shit!_ Kim thought, almost verbalizing the swear as she horrifically realized what happened; "He committed suicide!" she exclaimed instead, dialing Wade. "Wade, I just had a run in with another spell slinger. This one committed _suicide_."

"_Oh God,"_ Wade answered, _"Hang on, I'm calling Doctor Director… alright, there'll be a GJ clean up squad there shortly."_

"Wade… can… can you scan it?"

"_No problem."_ Wade said, _"You know the drill."_

She nodded and scanned the deceased man. Wade was typing as the data came in, running his analysis. "_Whoa,_" he exclaimed, _"That's hardcore…_"

"Hardcore?" Kim asked, worried.

"_It's self-activated using magic, but if I'm right, Kim, this may be for in-combat unconsciousness. I don't think it fires in sleep, but in the heat of combat…"_

Kim felt a cold pit in her stomach; she knocked him out in self defense and now he was dead. _Dead_. "Did… did I kill him?"

Wade looked at her meaningfully, then back at his data. _"No. This one was self-activated. There's a some residual brainwave activity indicating he was partially conscious when it happened. He offed himself."_

Kim nodded rapidly, telling herself that as Wade signed off. _He offed himself, I didn't kill him… he offed himself, I didn't kill him…_

She was still telling that to herself when the Global Justice cleanup team arrived.

XX

**Forty-Nine Minutes Later**

**11:03 AM Mountain Time**

**Global Justice Headquarters**

Kim walked into the briefing room as Doctor Director and Will Du were talking.

"Doctor Director, this man is much like the ones we encountered in Warsaw, more so than the ones that Miss Possible has encountered." Will said with a frown as the main briefing screens were showing the GJ autopsy experts examining the body.

"Agreed, but something doesn't make sense." Doctor Director responded as she rubbed her chin, "The ones encountered in the Tri-City museum were stunned just as badly as you stunned the others, but did not have this suicide foam activating. There's something wrong here."

"I don't know what it is," Kim chimed in, still wearing the battle suit (though it was offline at the moment), "But when I find the man who thought that _suicide_ was a good way to keep his secrets, I'm going to do something I probably shouldn't even _think_ about to him." She took her seat in the briefing room next to Will Du. The GJ agent nodded firmly to her.

"Miss Possible," Doctor Director said with a nod, "I understand your concerned about responsibility in this incident." she glanced at Agent Du and nodded, "Given Agent Du has recently been granted Level 2 clearance and you have clearance from General Simms of the United States Armed Forces in regards to Area Fifty-One, we can discuss their findings."

Kim frowned; _What do aliens have to do with this?_ she wondered as Doctor Director pulled the image of a female figure clad in a brown ninja outfit wielding wrist blades onto the screen. "This woman, Miss Possible, is a figure we've identified as '_Ghost_', a female stealth specialist of an unknown organization. She is superpowered and from what we understand it is of magical classification, possessing the ability to fade into the shadows." Doctor Director hit another image, a similar figure appearing. "And this is her sister, '_Wraith_'. Both committed suicide much like the magic-using super you encountered fifty minutes ago, refusing to be taken by Agent Du and Operative Williams."

Kim nodded slowly as Doctor Director brought up images, images with a light blue tinge to them and the standard display of a Global Justice HUD occasionally used by their hazard soldiers. The images were of combat, showing fighters similar to the ones Thackeray had escorting him, but unlike the uniformed swordsmen he had, these fighters would be more comparable to the orcs in _Lord of the Rings_ than humans. _A real straight feudal army,_ Kim thought worriedly as she saw one collapsing as Will Du blasted one in the image showing at that second. Several more cycled, showing a variety of weapons in their hands. Spears, maces, flails, halberds, crossbows firing some sort of energy projectile: it was a mix of weapons wielded by the men and women in chainmail with a black and blood red tabard over it, similar in scheme to the Iron Claws she'd defeated. When that clicked in her mind, she frowned and asked, "Why did the Iron Claw gangsters do this then? Their armbands are the same design."

"Likely those 'Iron Claws' were just a group of ruffians gathered together, based on what we know of their structure. The rest of the gang has been detained and is being transferred to Cell Block D under escort of PBD soldiers. We'll be interrogating them later today." Doctor Director answered, "But I want you to notice the energy flashes coming from the armor worn. Miss Possible, I'm aware that you face this kind of technology regularly, but is there any villain that has this kind of equipment that you know of?"

"Just those weird 'conclave' whackos," Kim answered with a frown, "Everyone else's shielding is visible when it's running. These guys? It only flashes up when it actually stops something. It's likely magic of some sorts since Ron mentioned he's learning a similar trick."

Doctor Director narrowed her good eye on her at mention of Ron, then nodded, "Well, we've looked at the documents and discovered that they are after something called a 'vulnari cyst'. Our translation of other texts recovered in the aftermath of your encounter with Thackeray would correlate to this. We would like you to take it to Area Fifty-One as you have been granted clearance in regards to it."

Kim nodded, "Where's this cyst thing?"

"Awaiting transport in a small crate, though the seals seem to be unstable. We'd like you to be wearing the battle suit while transporting it."

"No problem, let me call Wade and see if he has anything to help. Anything else I should know about?"

Doctor Director shook her head, "Yes. General Simms has wanted to speak to you, personally, for two days. The call came while you were busy with the Henchlympics. I did not mention it to you earlier as it was low priority. Consider this two birds with one stone We'll have transport waiting to transport yourself and the Sloth to an area nearby. Direct flight to Area 51 is currently forbidden barring craft in the base due to security concerns."

XX

XX

XX

XX

_"Come on, Hugo!" she shouted as they climbed into the tree house, behind the twins, "Milo's waiting!"_

"_Shelia, we're not supposed to be up there! Mom and Dad said…" the oldest son said, "Wesley and Wendell are supposed to be grounded!"_

_"You worry too much!" she answered as she climbed up onto the floor of the tree house. She didn't know what Milo had seen up there, but it was something weird._

_Hugo climbed in after her, scowling angrily, "Don't make me..."_

_"HUGO! SHELIA! MILO! What're you doing up there! You know what we said!" their mother called as she came out, "Don't make me get your father out here!"_

_"Aw but mom!" Wesley said, "There's..._

_"...something up there!" Wendell finished._

_"You two know what I said about finishing each other's sentences!" she scolded, "Stop doing that, it isn't right!"_

_"Look!" Milo said, pointing into the sky at a mysterious, flaming object. She looked up as the mysterious object in the sky was growing bigger. She dismissed it as just getting closer to Earth. What would happen in Go City anyways?_

_"Kids!" shouted their father as the tall man walked out, "Y'all know what I said about bein' in the tree house after five! Get on down here! Hugo, you trying to get them down?"_

_"Yes, dad!" he answered as he almost finished climbing all the way. "Come on, you heard them!"_

_"Good on ya, Hugo. You're a blessing to me." he said as he stood at the base of the tree house with their mother, "Come on, kids, stop making life hard for us, Hugo's gotta go to college soon."_

_"Look! Look!" the twins exclaimed as she pointed, Shelia looked up to as they could make out several colors together._

_"Oh God..." their mother exclaimed, "Get down you lot! NOW!"_

_"What? It's pretty! I can't wait to tell everyone about this!" Milo exclaimed, "They'll be so jealous!"_

_"You heard your mother, you lot! Get down here!" their father shouted as he grabbed the lowest rung and started to climb. Hugo was urging them down..._

_Within minutes, the rainbow colored comet had smashed into the base of the tree house. Everything became a blur of blinding colors, scintillating at rapid pace and leaving her unable to do anything. Her ears rang, deafening her in a cacophony of whines of all pitches and volumes. It was like an eternity as she was left helpless. Time passed._

_When her vision cleared, she saw a man clad in heavy steel gray armor carrying a large cannon-life rifle in his right hand, extending a thick gauntleted hand towards her. It was menacing. "Back... get away from me!" she shouted, uselessly swinging as he grabbed her hand. "Hugo!" she shouted._

_"Get your paws offa me!" Milo shouted, the twins were whimpering while Hugo was shouting something she couldn't understand. Her heart rate accelerated as she tried to break the grip of the man clad in thick armor when she felt something warm at her hands. It continued to grow, a green glow forming there..._

_Suddenly the grip released, the man staggering back in pain as his gauntlet was partially melted, he was shouting in pain and dropping his large rifle. Milo was suddenly enclosed by a purple aura and shrank, the man grabbing him closing his fist and shouting. Other heavy troopers came in, shouting and training their rifles on them._

_"Don't shoot!" Hugo shouted, pulling at a heavy soldier with a gold chevron on his arm when suddenly there was a blue glow around his hands, the tug turning into a pull that knocked the soldier to the ground face first. Things turned into a whirlwind, events melting into motion. She didn't know where she was, but the next place she found herself was in the woods..._

_She hid, staring at her hands as it glowed green again, the heat burning as she stared at it mysteriously..._

_A branch snapped, terror fixating in her heart as two more heavies came in, flanking a short bald general with a woman in blue wearing an eye patch. She couldn't understand what they were saying, but she ran. Ran for her life, only to trip on a root. She whirled around, the general was standing over her, smiling warmly and offering an ungloved hand, "Here," he said, "Let me help."_

XX

**Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

**Present Day (July 27th, 2007)**

Shego awoke with a start at the table, knocking the bottle of champagne over. She reached for it too late, but someone caught it with a black gloved hand. Drakken glanced at it, then to her. "You alright?"

"Yeah," she answered distantly, putting a hand on her forehead as she felt the hangover, "I just remembered, that's all."

"What's wrong, Shego? Was it your brothers?"

She scowled, her plasma glowing, "Don't remind me, I already have a hard enough time making Hego understand I'm a _villain_."

Drakken took a few steps back, "Alright, alright, I get it. It's none of my business, I'm just worried. It's not like you to get into the champagne like this."

She sighed and let the plasma go out, "It's pretty much the anniversary of when I got my powers, doc. When that comet-whatever hit me and my brothers' old tree house and left nothing but us and smoking rubble. GJ couldn't even find my parents' bodies in the mess." She shook her head, "I shouldn't really care by now, it's been over a decade, but I still can't help but feel something's wrong."

Drakken blinked a moment before nodding, "Sounds like guilt. You know I can't tell my mother about the villainy, I value her love too much. I know, sounds weak for a purveyor of human suffering, but even bad men love their mothers."

She smiled faintly, "Well, we'll have to tell her. I mean, how'd you explain to her about the flower powers?"

Drakken stood upright as he realized that, "I... uh..."

_"DREWBIE!"_ shouted a woman knocking on the door, "_You've got some 'splaining to do!"_

"Mother!" Drakken wheezed in horror as he looked left to right in desperation. As he turned, the door opened and his mother walked in angrily, holding her purse bag that was heavy enough Shego knew that if it came to hitting, Drakken would have a headache the size of hers very soon, if not larger.

"_What's this I keep hearing about you dabbling with mad science!"_ Missus Lipski shouted loudly at Drakken, who cowered. Shego couldn't stop finding it hilarious: Doctor Drakken, inept as a villain as he tended to be, was afraid of his own mother. _Hell hath no fury,_ she thought with a smirk as Drakken was whimpering;

"It's... it's not mad science, it was an accident! I dabbled with my old chemistry set, and well, this happened..." he explained, and right on cue the flower pedals popped out again.

"Oh..." his mother answered, "I'm sorry. I just keep hearing these absurd rumors that you've been trying to take over the world. Is that poor redheaded girl still on your case? I thought you were treating her."

"I was," Drakken answered quickly, "She got better..."

"I think she had a recession," Shego chimed in, "Maybe you ought to, ah, call her back in. Later."

Drakken paused a moment, glancing at her, then nodded, "Yes, we really should do another session, just make sure she's not losing it again." He gently began guiding her towards the door, "Speaking of that, I really should get to arranging it..." and the pedals burst out.

"Not until I know about those flowers of yours!"

"Easy," Shego said, "'Drewbie' never stopped fiddling with his chemistry set. It's what he went to college for. An accident happened and well... his powers." She's was lying, as that _was_ what happened, except the accident was more sabotage by naked mole rat than pure accident. "He wound up saving the world with them, didn't you watch the news?"

"No, I don't trust those news anchors."

"Yes, well," Drakken said, "I stopped those aliens, mother. Well, I took out the walkers, some other guy got the aliens themselves."

"Ah. Well done, Drewbie!" she exclaimed, glomping her son and hugging him tightly, "Your father would be so _proud_ of you for standing up for your fellow man!"

"Hehheh, yes... well, I need to get ready for the next radio talk show session now."

"Of course! By the way, the Tri-City Museum has a whole exhibit on those weird technologies. You want to come and see it?"

"Uh, no thanks, I really have a lot of work right now. Hopefully sometime later." He quickly guided her to the door to avoid it becoming even more awkward. As soon as she was gone, he exhaled. "That was too close."

"You'll have to tell her eventually, you know." Shego pointed out, "She won't remain ignorant forever."

Drakken simply sighed.

XX

**Nevada Desert**

**Approximately Four Kilometers from Area 51**

"Here's your stop, Possible!" shouted the pilot before he jokingly added, "Have fun with that alien tech and flying saucers!"

"Don't worry," Kim answered with a grin, "I handle that kind of stuff on a daily basis."

The pilot paused as he opened the bay door and Kim drove the Sloth out into the Nevada desert. The hovercraft took off once Kim was about fifty feet away, flying into the distance. She glanced to the back seat, "How we doing, Wade?"

"Container's stable for now." Wade answered, "You know General Simms didn't clear me for Area Fifty-One, right? Even I can't hack in there."

Kim almost hit the brakes, "Wait, you've tried?"

"Simms asked me to try and do it. Hacker proof."

Kim nodded, "Right, well, you'll probably wait outside with the Sloth then. I have the battle suit on just in case."

"Yeah. Your redirection gauntlet should be able to hold onto it if the container becomes unstable while being taken to the main base. Though if something attacks during that, you'll be pretty exposed when holding onto it."

"I'll deal with it, Wade. I'm pretty good at dodging. But I doubt we'll be attacked, its Area _Fifty-One_, only Drakken and Warhok have been crazy enough to attack it."

"Not really crazy in Warhok's case." he pointed out as they drove by a pair of cacti that seemed to turn as they passed. Kim suspected it was actually a set of hidden security cameras to monitor the approach. "Warhok was invading Earth, siccing walkers on Area Fifty-One made sense. Heck, didn't they knock a walker or two out?"

Kim frowned, "I'm not sure, but General Simms obviously has the base running smoothly... hang on, we're coming up to the base."

She came to a halt as a guard stepped out of a security booth, M16 rifle slung over his shoulders. Kim noted what looked like a laser turret emplacement nearby, packed down into the ground and covered in the underbrush. _Looks like Simms managed to get some alien tech working... or borrowed the Tweebs' work that GJ nabbed._ The soldier, an African-American corporal, walked out and looked her and the car over before pointing to Wade, "I'm sorry, Miss Possible, but Mister Load is not currently cleared."

"I understand, Corporal." Kim answered, "He's going to remain outside the base with the Sloth while we transport the object inside."

The soldier nodded and turned his radio on, holding a hand on the earpiece while he lowered a small microphone, "Omega-Leader, this is Omega-Six, Blue Fox has arrived with Package. Repeat, Blue Fox has arrived with Package." He listened to his radio, "No, sir, she's going to come personally. Her transportation is to remain outside with her Splicer-Two." Another pause; "Yes sir." He let go and nodded to her, "An APC is being sent now."

She nodded as Wade brought the box out. He wearing a pair of thick gloves as he did so.

XX

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron bowed politely to Sensei as he met him in the grove near the school. Sensei returned the slight bow and gestured for him to sit. He noticed the case for the Lotus Blade was lying next to Sensei. He sat down as Sensei began, "This grove is a place of meditation, as you know." Sensei began, "But what you do not know is that it is also a place of trial. Here is where we learn who is able to handle the power of magic and its responsibilities, and those who are unable to. It is time for you to begin." With this, Sensei rose. "I leave the Lotus Blade with you now. You will not need it unless you chose to use it, but it is there." He gently opened the case, "Meditate, Stoppable-san, when alone you will find what it is you truly are."

He wasn't sure if he liked the sound of that or not, but he listened as Sensei left. All was quiet in the grove save for a few birds chirping in the distance and a gentle breeze. He inhaled and let his senses expand, using the technique Sensei had been teaching him to sense the presence of other things.

In only a minute and a half he felt a powerful presence moving closer toward him. He waited patiently for a moment, but his gut began to clench and an itch grew on the back of his neck, giving him goose bumps all over. The presence was giving him a malevolent feel. Uninvited, thoughts that had been lying in his subconscious came to surface. Kim's overbearing attitude and control freak tendencies and his dislike for them. Jealously towards Mankey, Eric, the fact that they could get Kim's affections when he couldn't. Envy for the love everyone else's parents gave when his parents so often left him out of the loop and sent him to Camp Wannaweep. It wasn't him, but it was...

He pulled the Lotus Blade from its case and rose, turning. Thick fog and mist had set in around the grove, blanketing the entire area. "Rufus?" he asked, then he collapsed.

X

Rufus sped out of the pocket as the Lotus Blade nearly crashed into where he was resting, squeaking in surprise as he leapt out. He turned and crawled onto Ron's chest, poking him in the cheek. He seemed to be out cold.

XX

**Area 51**

**Nevada, USA**

Within the base, Kim watched as the crew of hazard soldiers wearing combat-armored Hazmat suits handling the crate as General Simms gestured her inside the main building, his fairly thick Texan accent professional despite the drawl in it. "Thank you for bringing this, Miss Possible. Doctor Director briefed you on Agent Will Du and Operative Atton Williams' encounters, correct?"

"Yes sir." Kim answered as they rode the elevator down. Simms nodded and lead her down a hall. She noticed the usual roulette of strange alien technology, but there was a lorwardian walker being examined in the main bay. Simms took her to a door and entered a pass code, Kim noticing the door next to it reading '_Stargate Command_'. She leaned back to get a better look at as she entered after Simms.

"We're looking at what's likely a Delta Zulu Seven Dash Alpha scenario. Ancient conspiracy with unusual technology and super powers," Simms explained as she glanced around. She saw chainmail with a red and black tabard over it, similar to the Iron Claw's pattern. Simms entered a long key quickly and in the main screen a hologram appeared, showing an assortment of images. Uniform pieces, weapons, visuals likely taken from Atton Williams' helmet recorder. "We have determined that they are, indeed, human. We only had one body for proper autopsy, the body belonging to a female enemy operative specializing in stealth and possessing stealth based powers; though you likely know this already."

She nodded, "Doctor Director told me. Did your guys find anything? Only reason I can think of for you wanting to talk to me."

Simms nodded, "Indeed. You're aware that all I tell you is classified, but you seem to be the one the odd humans after." He hit a button, and a holographic projection of said enemy operative appeared. Kim gave it a glance over, seeing nothing unusual in her.

"Physically, she's just an extremely athletic human female." Simms explained, "But our scientists found evidence supporting she's not from Earth."

"Wait a minute, a human alien?" Kim asked with a frown.

"Likely. Autopsy revealed that her physiology is normal, but we found trace elements and traces not native to this planet. In fact, we hadn't encountered any like it save for one thing..." he hit a few more buttons, bringing up an image of a glowing rainbow colored comet. "Within her kit was a small crystal with a blue glow bouncing around inside of it. Does that sound familiar?"

"Wait, it's connected to Hego's super strength?"

"Not directly, but a similar source. We found embedded in the weapons small crystals like this, which seem to be used to reinforce them by channeling their magic. We also have further evidence indicating that there's at least one alien species out there that is similar to us, giving a possible similar ancestry to modern humans."

"I'd like to hear about this, what's your source?"

"Salvaged from the alien walkers. GJ sent us the original data and the computers from the alien ship, while PBD kept a copy of it for safekeeping under Brigadier General Gary Townes down in Florida. The copy recently went missing due to Dementor hitting the facility, as well as the efforts of Drakken and Shego..."

"Wait, what?" she asked in surprise. She hadn't heard about that. "Why wasn't I told?"

"It wasn't reported to the UN security council and is being kept under wraps." Simms answered with a thin smile, "I only know because as general of Area Fifty-One I tend to have easier access to certain folders, especially when they have access to alien technology."

"Right. So what do you know?"

He gestured her along, "It's stored in another console. Before we head to them, any other questions about these mysterious 'Conclave' enemies encountered?"

"Yes; what's the source of their shielding?"

Simms nodded, "Magic. The energy readouts are very similar to Mister Stoppable's."

"How do you..."

"We had a scanner running on Middleton when we caught the alien ship crashing down into the Tri-City area. I had a feeling it would be your handiwork. Anyways, the scan gave us an idea and since you stated yourself he had magical powers during debrief, we kept it on hand. It's matched several other energy signatures and extrapolation of the alien, or should I say _lorwardian_ wreckage told us more."

"Right. Anything that I should know of when fighting them?"

"The magical shielding they use is only attuned against projectiles, energy and kinetic. Use hand to hand combat or overwhelming firepower. GJA-14 blasts easily overwhelm the lesser ones, but stronger barriers will require more to breach. Sapper strikes, if you can call on them, should also be useful. Come, let me show you our lorwardian databank. You'd be surprised what we've learned, about them and others. It's a large galaxy, Miss Possible, and we have to be ready."

The two left the room, going further down the hall. Kim thought she caught a glimpse of something resembling the Ark of Covenant as they went down another elevator. When it opened, she noticed one of the hazard troopers carrying his oversized rifle.

"General Simms," she asked, "Why weren't those hazard soldiers around when Drakken showed up? If those things are what I think they are, they'd of threatened tanks."

Simms smiled sadly, "Indeed, the GJA-21 _Railing_ Heavy Rifle is a good boon to our hazard soldiers and a vast improvement over the old ones we used ten years ago, but it takes their semi-powered suits to carry. As for why they were not present, well, two were busy checking the saucer Drakken escaped in, and the others were containing our Tiberium samples."

"Right," Kim answered, "Whatever that is..."

Simms sighed, "You've never played classics, have you? It was a joke, much like that _Stargate Command_ door you saw earlier."

"What does that lead to?"

"Emergency supplies." He glanced around to make sure no one was in earshot; "Booze. Just in case."

She gave him a quizzical look as he entered the code to the next door. A moment later, they entered a massive bay where multiple walkers were being studied. Kim caught sight of multiple heavy cannons that would normally be mounted on battleships pointed towards where the walkers were. _Considering the Brits needed to use a whole fleet from the Royal Navy just to knock out one walker, that's a good thing._ Kim decided. Whatever the walkers did, she was glad that using things like nuclear warheads to take them out remained only theory. General Simms lead her to the terminal, "The walkers deployed are actually relatively small in scale. From what we've gleaned, these 'Strike' walkers are something close to their MBT, though the blueprints we found don't quite match, possibly indicating modifications to give them their speed."

"I'm worried about the lowardians," Kim explained, "Both times I've ran into Warmonga, she's brought enough equipment to take a planet over if used right. The first time was just _casual exploration_, even, yet she had doomsday devices enough that she probably could of taken out the whole planet."

"Ah yes, their vacuum doomsday device. We detected that energy signature during the power up countdown. Since we had word you were handling it, we have to didn't scramble any A-10's to cremate the entire area with bullets and hellfire rockets." Simms glanced around, "Though if it came to shove, the President did authorize the use of an emergency tactical launch."

"Whoa, hold on there," Kim said in surprise and blinking rapidly, putting her hands in front of her, "They'd of let you use _nukes_?"

"If MOABs, cannons, and cruise missiles didn't do the job, we would have been forced to. But no, we were only expecting to cremate the area with cruise missiles. But the US dropping that in a Caribbean country seemingly unprovoked would be a political _shit storm_, especially after Operation Urgent Fury's fallout."

She nodded, recalling that black spot, "Well, good thing it never came to that."

"We did determine one thing though. These walkers are _shielded_. That's why our weapons had little effect. Our munitions are currently inferior against shielded targets. A hundred-twenty-five shot from an Abrams being insufficient to break something was disorienting, but we pulled our _Gauss_ tank prototypes out and they had enough punch to threaten the walkers. You know of the tank," he gave her a thin, humorless grin, "drove one, even."

She nodded, "You read about the incident?"

"The _Gauss_ tank was capable of threatening alien armor and shielding. Given that fact, it's in our favor to keep that technology safe and develop it ASAP. The only other remotely conventional weapons we had that could do so was our plasma and rail gun prototypes here."

"Area Fifty-One has everything, doesn't it?" she asked in amusement as Simms started typing into the console.

"Militarily, yes." he said as the terminal brought up data. She looked it over. Most of the data was incomplete, but there was one file that Simms brought up. "This," he explained, "Is a strategic recording of an actual alien war. We've concluded that there's at least four major species out in the galaxy. The lorwardians, which we have firsthand experience of. The second would be a race referred to as the 'meriur', who seem to be some sort of space elf from what we've gleaned."

"Define space elf."

"Lord of the Rings like. Seem to be close enough to humans that we were briefly misinterpreted as some lost colony or some such, though they realized the mistake quickly once Warhok correlated the information Warmonga gathered during her encounter with you."

"Right; what're the other two?"

"A short, mole-like race called the 'asura', who seem to be the mad scientists of the bunch. They have a liking for robotics and things that you'd feel at home busting. Take any of the mad scientists you've fought and put them at a species wide level."

"Doesn't sound very stable. Guess that's how they've fought the lorwardians, isn't it?"

"That's correct. Data indicates that the asura, meriur, and a species from a planet called '_Jingos_', which seem to be a cross of reptilian and avian traits, form at the very least the core of a major power called the Alliance. Presumably the lorwardians have threatened those three species' nations and they banded together to hold them off."

"Shego mentioned that in her introduction Warmonga referred to herself as the _'Victor of the Battle of the Thirteen Moons of Jingos_', any relation to the data inside?" Kim didn't mention it, but the thought of it taking multiple species to fight off the lorwardians was a horrific thought. It implied the galaxy out there was in the middle of a galactic scale version of World War Two.

Simms continued regardless, "Those moons were as far we can tell a fairly key area for this Alliance and provided power crystals like the one I showed earlier. An effect of the battle saw the comet that gave Team Go it's powers be knocked onto an intercept course with Earth. It likely went into some sort of warp or light speed given the timeframe."

"Wait, so Warmonga fought people with Shego's powers?"

"Far as we can tell, yes, this race that comes from '_Jingos_' seems to have powers very similar to those belonging to Team Go, but the duplication seems to be unique to the crystals that composed the comet itself."

Kim glanced to the terminal, wondering if Shego knew the true origin of her powers. _That might explain how Warmonga happened to have a tool that seemed to easily nullify Shego,_ she thought as she wondered just how screwed Earth was in the scheme of things.

"The victory on the moons was the crowning moment for the alien known as Warmonga, but a powerful meriur magic user used his powers in a final blow against her. The result blasted her back to roughly the mentality of a twelve year old. When you encountered her, she was still piecing her mind back together in a long search. By the time she returned for the walker attack, she had made a full recovery. You recall that 'Great Blue' mumbo-jumbo that lead her to follow Drakken? Turns out that the naming is more just something lost in translation, the story involving it seems to be more, but we don't know. All we know is that it's almost like Greek mythology is to us, and we suspect that there's some cult in lorwardian society that still follows it. Maybe they picked her up after a mess, maybe not. We'll never know." He glanced around before tapping the console again, "Here, lemme show you some of the recordings we recovered of the battle in question. It's not a pleasant watch, I have to warn you. Not the violence of it, but the realization of how unprepared we are for facing a _real_ invasion, not the personal grudge of two decently ranking aliens with some robotic hardware."

Horror tied a deep knot in Kim's stomach as Simms began to show several clips that had been recovered. Most of it had been reduced to static, but there were three primary parts that horrified her. First was a fairly conventional engagement: Several large, probably eight feet tall bipedal robots of vaguely humanoid shape brawling with lorwardian warriors using some form of energy charge through their fists while the lorwardians were using spear-like weapons not unlike Warmonga's own staff weapon. She could make out Warmonga in the confusion, knocking away a pair of small, probably four foot tall beings away easily as a third charged her like a blood knight. The battle seemed to be in a heavily industrialized bay.

"That was something close to an infantry battle in a facility. This next recording is a vehicular engagement." Simms said as the video ended and he switched it.

This time, Kim made out several walkers very similar to the ones deployed at graduation dueling smaller walkers in gold-tinted plating, a central ball-akin shape with what seemed to be no viewport, four legs coming out in a arachnid-like manner. Mounted on top was a tri-barreled cannon of sort, each one firing bursts so that when the other two had finished it had a burst ready. The gold walkers were somewhat larger than an M1 Abrams, but they were still dwarfed by the lorwardian mechs. The energy bursts impacted the walkers, brief flashes of shields coming up. Although the golden walkers were only a fraction of the size, they put up an extremely good showing. Honeycomb-shaped white colored shield flashes from the walkers told her that whichever aliens these belonged to, they packed serious shield technology. The buildings in the distance seemed to be less industrial and looked more like ancient ruins she'd delved into on behalf of archeologists ranging from the kind in need of a hand to Monkey Fist before he became that. The lorwardian walkers took some losses, but they had quality on their side and gained an upper hand, the equal numbers duel quickly turning in favor of the invaders. When the gold colored walkers were hit and breached, blue liquid spilled out. Sometimes there was a flash of light inside, but sometimes there wasn't and Kim would make out the partially incinerated remains of pilots who looked too human for her comfort.

"We concluded that the smaller walkers belong to the race referred to as the 'meriur'." Simms said as that recording ended, "Their 'technology' is magical in nature. Those walkers, _cuirassiers_ is the closest translation we could extrapolate, seem to be the MBT analog for them. They're not equal to the strike walkers, but are capable of defending themselves against aerial assault. That marks them as a Six-Seven-Dash-A classification: Jack of all trades alien mechanized unit."

"Uh, right. So... the main bodies of the walker, they're..."

"Yes, the pilot. It seems to be some sort of exoskeleton, but we assume they use magic of some sorts as an interface." He paused; "Mind you, this is all extrapolation based on limited evidence."

"What was the third recording?"

"That... was probably the most horrific of them all, and no one died in it." he answered, bringing it up. It wasn't a recording of battle... it was a recording of a _lorwardian military parade_. And the walkers within it weren't just the strike ones. Much larger ones, ones that looked like they were mobile construction facilities and assault platforms were in formation, large gunship-like fighters flying overhead in six craft diamonds. She felt like she was going to void her bowels as she realized just how deep in shit Earth was if another attack came before they were ready.

As the recording ended, she asked: "How... how due are we?"

"If they launch a full invasion and not the personal grudge of two aliens who somehow have access to that hardware level? Well, to put it diplomatically: We're _screwed_. Complete Charlie-Omega-Romeo-Dash-Eight scenario. Curbstomped. On all levels but one."

"What's our only hope then?"

"Don't get noticed, if we can. But if they do come, it seems that magic will be our only hope. One of the recovered texts... you know what, let me show you." He hit a button and a translation came up. She read the log, with some notes for ease of reading, units translated into estimated metric values, and similar:

_Star date 8/32/578_ _(Approximately Late July-Early August 1983 CE)_

_Victory!_

_Warmonga's plan worked perfectly; we broke into the meriur complex and destroyed their citadel from the inside and demolished the base. Our walkers met and destroyed their cuirassier walkers and our warriors proved superior to theirs. With the base nullified, they weren't able to bring in any reinforcements through their portals gateways._

_It wasn't without casualties, however. A considerable number of our warriors fell in battle, and we took more losses than anticipated because of their clever usage of their powerful magics. I wonder why it is that the fiercest beings in the galaxy are specifically vulnerable to that strange thing that the other races require to fight us._

_Worse, the meriur leader, before he dissipated from Warmonga's blows, used his magics to addle her. The doctors say she will be fine, physically, but I fear for her mind. The meriur are a vain species, they will strike like cowards in their last moments to try and deny us our hard won victories. I can only hope my battle mate is not affected for long._

_As for our victory, we will be honored as we have broken an Alliance home world, something that has not been done before. For [[one hundred and thirty]] years we've fought this Alliance, and now we've managed to break one of their home worlds. An outlier one for certain, but we planted our flag on its soil and defeated the defenders. It is a good sign of the tide turning, but even if the tide retains its pattern, we _will_ be victorious._

The entry ended there and she glanced at Simms, "So the lorwardians are vulnerable to magic?"

"Unless this was some false data link made in the event we won to throw us, yes. Analysis indicates that magic would be a valuable tool against the lorwardians if we have another attack. Something in their biology makes them exposed to magic, but they're still damn tough. Mister Stoppable would thus be our point man in such a situation, but you're skills would be invaluable regardless."

"Right." she said with a nod, "I'm assuming this is all classified."

"You can speak to Mister Stoppable about it, of course, or Mister Load, but otherwise yes, treat this as top secret classified information. The public was devastated enough by the damage the invasion caused. It's better that we think it was fully fledged rather than just a taste of what we may see in the future."

"I'll let them know. Anything else?"

"Yes, keep your eyes open. We have a good amount of the recovered alien technology, but other groups have been picking it up too. If you find any on your missions, we need it brought to Area Fifty-One ASAP. It's possible partial declassification will be required soon, so I'd like to have a lid on this alien technology. Global Justice has been extremely helpful, but you have contacts they don't have, and I trust you more than I trust them because of your reliability."

"You know Wade and my brothers played around with some of the tech, right?"

"Correct, but I'd prefer some prodigal close to you over a random scientist fresh from college."

XX

XX

XX

Ron blinked as he came back to his senses. He wasn't sure where he was, but there was a dull cyan touch to everything. He glanced down and noticed that he was standing on some sort of soft stone cut into smooth hexagonal slabs formed into an island of sorts. He held the Lotus Blade in his hands on guard. He turned, looking around. He was in some black abyss, yet there was an array of stars in the night sky. It reminded him of Middleton, home. The prom night when he and Kim properly became a couple. Yet that malevolent aura was still at the edge of his mind.

_"So,"_ said a hauntingly familiar voice. Confident, male... _evil._ _"You drew first. Good, you're closer to our real self than I imagined."_ Shadows swirled around one of the edges and what stepped out horrified him. It was _himself_, but there was a different feel. It wasn't the generally carefree nature, no. It was the pure focus, the razor sharp mastermind.

"You're nothing more than potential gone wrong," Ron answered as he gripped the sword, "Only comes out when someone uses crazy tech that reverses someone's personality entirely." He decided to use the 'Zorpox' alter ego for name reference to avoid confusing himself. "You're not me."

"I'm not? Then why am I in you? Why is it that whenever I come to play I _**am**_ you." he laughed maniacally, "Come on, show me what you've got! I'll enjoy ruining Kimberly Ann Possible in more ways than just beating her!"

Ron flipped into a rage and sprang forward, charging the Lotus Blade with his magic and colliding with Zorpox, the collision catching some orange plasma shield that sprang up. Staggering back, Zorpox grinned and drew a sword from his belt. Unlike the Lotus Blade, this one looked futuristic and when it was flipped on blue energy pulsed through lines on the weapon. He slashed, but the tech blade was capable of blocking it as a blue energy burst pulsed to stop the blow from severing the sword in half. A leg sweep caught Ron and knocked him onto his back. Rolling out of the way as the tech blade stabbed down, he cut with the Lotus Blade diagonally, charging the blow with his magic. The plasma shield fired up again. _He must of set it to activate when I hit him!_ Ron realized.

The two traded swift bouts of blows, both matching each other's moves with nigh perfect synchronization. Ron didn't see how to get the upper hand. If he struck with just the blade, Zorpox countered. If he struck with magic enhancing, the plasma shield came up.

"Come on, surrender!" Zorpox shouted, laughing as the two began to leap about the battlefield trying to hit each other. The duel was high agility now. Ron would leap at him, Zorpox would soar over and slash down, forcing Ron to block. Zorpox might try to attack, Ron would roll out of the way and attack to no effect. It was stalemate.

Ron glanced at the ground and noticed that the connections between the hexagonal slabs weren't filled with any mortar. He smiled and charged his magic again, a simian echo and flash of blue enveloping him as he slammed his foot down. The burst sped towards Zorpox, who activated his plasma shield again, but the blast did its work already. The hexagonal slabs began to break apart. "It's over!" Ron shouted before sending another blast as the island began to fall apart.

"Over, boy? This is just the beginning! BooyahHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" he laughed evilly before everything was shrouded in rapidly closing in mists. He collapsed and fell as the stones he stood on lost their constituency and crumbled to dust, leaving him falling.

XX

Suddenly he was awake again, in the grove. Sensei was standing there and looked at him meaningfully.

XX

XX

**July 28th, 2007**

**Tri City Museum**

**Middleton, Colorado**

"Hey, Kim Possible!" shouted someone in the crowd. People, mostly locals of the Tri-City area, just glanced at her briefly and continued on, much to the confusion of the person who shouted. Kim smiled briefly; it always amazed her how people beyond the Tri-City area would be surprised that she'd be among the crowds and would shout, expecting a reaction. But people in Tri-City knew she was still one of them, no matter how famous.

The exhibit they were in now was focusing on villainous robotics. Most of it looked like something out of sci-fi, but Kim was chilled to spot a duplicate of Eric in the display on synthodrones. None of the drones were real as none had been captured due to their fragility, but it was close enough to the real thing to make her uncomfortable. She spotted a couple Diablo robots as well, two in toy form, two in battle form. It surprised her how many villains used robotics. There was even wreckage of Aviarius' giant robotic flamingo (and a bigger one used by another villain).

"Man," Monique commented, "Amazing how much of this stuff you had something to do with."

"I did a lot of missions," she answered as she folded her arms together, "I'm not surprised I did a lot. I'm just surprised someone went through the trouble to dig it all up."

"Hey, it makes a good exhibit. Tickets are selling out faster than they can open slots, I hear. Shame Ron isn't here, he'd love the bit on those freaky ninjas Fist had."

The two chuckled; Ron still had his phobia of monkeys despite the fact that the powers he had was pretty much monkey style magic. As they walked into the next exhibit, Kim thought she saw one of the replica Killer Bebes moving its head. She glanced at it, then back to Wade, who shrugged.

The next room focused on villainous henchmen. She could make out displays of assorted uniforms. Drakken, Dementor, HenchCo, Falsetto Jones' men, the Seniors' new groups of henchmen, the Mathter, even some of a few small time ruthless dictators she'd taken down with a little infiltration as part of 'aggressive reconnaissance' on GJ's behalf. No one picked up on her as she entered the room. Stopping by a display of Dementor's assorted henchmen, she idly read the readout on _Balmung_ armor. It read:

_After losing yet again, Professor Dementor began to look into ways to stop heroes such as Kim Possible from defeating his henchmen. The first of the new inventions was the Balmung-class battle armor. Although effective, it left the legs exposed as it was not flexible enough to be used as leg coverage. However, the armor does make one effectively invulnerable in melee combat baring leg strikes. The replica is to the right of the central mannequin, in the gold plated armor._

She noticed the stealth version was missing as she looked over, though she did see a distortion. Then it reappeared. _Ah, must be set to phase out and phase back in,_ she thought as Monique was reading it. Wade pulled her aside briefly. "You worried that it's too quiet?"

"Plenty," Kim answered, "But after everything, I'm glad for a day or two of quiet."

Wade nodded, "Yeah, I heard PBD is bringing another gunship full of troops to watch over the area. But it's been all quiet on the 'net, only things that're really in action are the villainous forums, a lot of that just bitterness as your wins."

She smirked, glad to know she was at least hurt the villains' egos every time she beat them to the dirt and used them as proverbial mops.

She looked over the crowd, then shook her head as she saw _Duff Killigan_ standing by one of the displays, looking over the Mathter's outfits with a laugh to himself. He didn't have his trademark explosive golf balls or golf clubs, but she'd recognize him anywhere. "Wade..."

"Yeah, Killigan evidently talked about seeing the exhibit with PBD or something. Guess it helps him that most of his villainy was mercenary work and not his own initiative... still, I'm worried they let him in, even without his gear."

XX

**Lorraine, France**

"_Corporal Robespierre, take your squad up the hostile left flank."_ the French commandant, Jean Louis, ordered via radio. Rex Robespierre nodded and gave an affirmative. He looked to his squad and gave them a nod, holding up his left hand and giving several quick signals. The soldiers nodded back and moved up. The small group was part of several squads that were deployed in the small French village. They didn't know what renegades had taken control of it, but they had to deal with it before it spread. Taking the safety off of his _FAMAS_ rifle, the squad moved up the road, taking advantage of the concealment offered by the tall grass as they moved. The village was a small farming community, but he knew that after the alien invasion _everywhere_ was being reduced to comparative small.

Coming to the crossroad just before they town, they moved to a small abandoned house nearby and took cover behind it. Pulling out his binoculars, he looked towards the town. He spotted one of the renegades. He wore grey combat equipment that was relatively standard, but a flexible black tabard was worn over it with a dull grey cross on it. _Well, what have we here? Zealots of that supposed order?_ he thought as he quietly relayed the opposition to his squad. They would be engaging roughly nine soldiers, equal to their squad. The soldiers were all armed with some form of assault rifle; Belgian made FN FAL, American M-16's, AK-47's, one even had a Heckler and Koch G36. The rangefinder built into his binoculars told him they were at a hundred and fifty meters. They were in effective range. He looked for the civilians of the town, but couldn't find them. _Intel said they were being held somewhere..._ he thought.

Either way, he had his orders to engage and could hear rifle bursts going off at the other side of the town. "Fire at will," he ordered as he took aim and squeezed the trigger.

The burst shot forward towards the enemy zealot he was targeting. The man collapsed as the absurdly high rate of fire in the FAMAS took effect. The squad had downed the enemy riflemen quickly before they could respond. One had dived for cover, but another soldier took him down. "Go go go!" Rex ordered as they moved up. Sprinting the distance, they closed into the village. The other squads of French soldiers met up with them as they pushed towards the town hall. A group of the enemy fighters tried to mount a resistance outside, using barricades at the town hall's steps, but the French soldiers cut through too quickly. Forcing an entry, they charged into the town hall and cleared the first room.

"Corporal Robespierre, take your squad to the church on the other side of the ridge behind the town hall." the Lieutenant in charge of the field phase of the operation said and gestured, "Intel says they may of moved the civilians there." Rex gave an affirmative and lead his squad there. The outside of the small church was unfortified, but Rex noticed that it was of Catholic denomination. They came up to the door, no one seeing anything on the ground floor of the church as they peaked through the window. Breaching the door with a quick hit of the stock on the handle to break the lock, they entered. An enemy fighter attacked with her rifle, but a quick burst from Rex's _FAMAS_ killed her and dropped her bleeding onto the floor. Another soldier came out of the back, but the private behind him shot him down before a rifle burst went off.

Heading into the back past the alter, he found the priest.

The catholic priest was a friendly looking man who had grey hair and was clean shaven. Grey eyes behind glasses added a serious sense to him. He nodded shakily, "Th... there's more downstairs. They're after some crazy artifact." he explained, pointing towards the basement access.

Splitting his squad into the two groups, one to hold the ground floor, one to go down, Rex lead his five man group downstairs to the basement. Something wasn't right; all of a sudden his hairs stood on end. As they crept forward, he heard voices. They slammed themselves onto the walls and crept forward towards a glowing purple light.

_"I knew that mad scientist was up to something!"_ said a voice in a thick, likely southern German, accent speaking French.

_"It's not the work of Professor Dementor,"_ answered a commanding Frenchwoman's voice, "_This wasn't made recently either. Someone put this under this church and hid it. Based on the gunfire above, I'd say someone tried to reclaim it."_

Rex nodded as he pulled a flash bang grenade from his bandoleer, whispering, "Arming flash bang," as he threw it in. They braced for the explosion of noise.

With a loud bang and his ear protection struggling to dampen the multi-frequency whine, they broke by the corner and closed the distance on the two enemy zealots, pinning them down and clearing their firearms. Small bits of purple smoke came from the device.

"Clear!" Rex shouted as they confirmed there were no more hostiles and the weapons were secured. He looked at the strange device. It looked like a lava lamp, purple energy pulsing through it. What was unusual He glanced at the console tied to it, wondering how no one figured out the thing was down here. A glance at all the dust and broken bricks on the floor near where it was told him what happened. "Must of hid it behind that hole," he commented as he pointed briefly, frowning as he examined the primitive console. It looked like one of the first computers, but most of the device looked older.

The console began to move randomly and quickly. He coughed suddenly, a nauseous feeling coming down on him. And he wasn't alone, the others in his squad began to cough too, one commenting about the smell. "Let's move back," he ordered before coughing again and they moved up. He was feeling light headed now.

XX

**Three Hours Later**

**Global Justice Headquarters**

**Somewhere under Middleton, Colorado**

Doctor Director frowned as the report on the incident in France came in from the French military and French PBD, who had been called in to deal with it. _So, it left most of the town sick, some new group of religious zealots are trying something, and we found a mysterious device of mad science that probably dates a hundred years back with some modification fifty years ago._ She shook her head as another report came in. Atton Williams had gotten to Giacomo Venuchi's laboratory without incident or encounter and recovered the staff weapon. She smiled; it was nice to have a day when everything went perfectly.

"Bring up the status of the Gauss tank." she ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" the technician answered and brought the latest test up. The tank was faring well, especially now that the armed forces were designing their next main battle tank around the cannon as they began to work out the kinks in the system. Given the note General Simms had given to her about how _Gauss_-tank based ammunitions were effective against the alien walkers, she felt GJ needed to keep an eye on the development of that project for the safety of the world. She nodded, "Bring up _Project Wolverine_."

The screen changed to a GJ secret weapons lab hidden in the Alps, near the PBD facility where the Centurion Project was developed. An 8 foot tall bipedal mech marched into the underground testing facility and began to open fire with its dual energy _Gatling_ cannons. She nodded as it spat out an insane amount of power, the power cells on its back glowing brightly as the guns hummed along, spraying rounds at a rapid pace to the multitude of targets. If it did what it was expected to, GJ would be able to use it to put down large numbers of synthodrones and would have something roughly capable of serving as an equalizer to lorwardian warriors. _Now I just need to figure out why Doctor Narud wanted it codenamed Project Wolverine..._

"Next project." she said and the screen changed to _Project Valkyrie_. A GJ agent was wearing bright red pieces of equipment, based off of the _Valkyrie 1000_ shoes that Wade developed at Valkyrie Dynamics. The soldier nodded to the scientists and activated the equipment. Suddenly, he broke into a speedblitz as he charged forward, quickly demolishing several targets with brutal hand-to-hand moves. The only reason she was able to keep up with it was because the camera was over cranking at high speed.

She nodded as other projects were shown. The sapper they recovered had been reverse engineered and the project was back on track, sapper-armed GJ and PBD soldiers anticipated to be fielded by the end of August. _Good, that should even the odds a bit against supers._

XX

XX

**End Chapter**

*** This chapter is definitely a lore chapter, given Kim's trip to Area 51.**

*** When designing the alien races, I considered the implications. First of all, we have the lorwardians for certain. However, it's obvious they have a massive war machine based on advanced walker technology, yet in **_**Mad Dogs and Aliens**_** Warmonga brings some non-walker vehicles (not used, of course). Second, what kind of power would be needed to face that kind of firepower? Obviously we humans have some up-teching to do. I took a look at **_**Universe at War: Earth Assault**_** by Petroglyph Games. I base a lot of lorwardian concept on equipment used by the Hierarchy in that game, particularly the large walkers. In a sense, the 'Strike' walkers are the smaller of the bunch, and the ones deployed by Warhok and Warmonga in **_**Graduation**_** were modified for speed given the large amount of ground to cover. I'm aware that the actual episodes didn't show any shield flashes when the army tanks shot at the walkers, but let's assume that the smoke from the impacts concealed the shield flashes. As for not flashing with Shego's powers, well, Shego was in melee. Inside the shielding maybe?**

*** With the asura, I knew right off the bat that they would be the mad scientist race. They basically embody the strange tech that is common in the KP 'verse and pretty much rely on prototypes that **_**should**_** have gone into mass production by now. That's their shtick, I wanted them to basically look at an everyday problem and then come up with zany schemes to handle it. Whereas we'd install a light switch, they'd probably do some advanced fusion generators and line the place with gamma particles or something that shouldn't make any sense, then promptly lose the tech for next time baring a couple key pieces.**

*** The meriur represent the tease of cliché and common elements, in a sense. I'm taking the general concept of most clichéd space elves and pretty much putting them through the grinder. Them I intend to use relatively soon. To describe them in brief, think the masari of **_**Universe at War**_** with some LOTR elf thrown in for good measure and a smidgeon of protoss.**

*** As for Jingos; that was mentioned by Warmonga in **_**Mad Dogs and Aliens**_**. I am planning, after finishing Deconstructive Legacy, to write that out as I have done a surprising amount of drafting in regards to tech trees of sorts for the lorwardians and 'Alliance' powers. It'd be a great way to give some more meaning to the events of MDAA and Graduation, and would probably work for Warhok/Warmonga a lot like **_**Number Two**_** did for Will Du. The species there is to be fleshed out at a later date. I suppose I **_**could**_** just call the natives 'jingosians', but that's a little lazy and I don't have canon limiting me as I do with the lorwardians.**

*** The GJA line weapons are actually a shout out to the Global Justice Alliance KP forum. I figured it'd be a nice little shout out.**

*** I have created a TV Tropes page for my work, but I will not index it outside of being a troper work (I do some trope work there) until this fanfic is complete. Personal reasons. Those curious, look for 'KP Legacy' on TV Tropes.**

*** As a note, Rex Robespierre and company were all speaking French, I just translated it into English. (Okay, it was written in English, but if you know French, pretend it's in French. Pretty much all I know is 'Bonjour' and 'Merde' as far as French goes)**

*** When I wrote out the brief glimpse back Shego had, I half intended to have them detained at a GJ base or something for a time until they broke out and caused a lot of damage. The idea is that Hego would be horrified that he just hurt them, the Wego twins would just go along with the rest, Mego well... he just wants out of there, and maybe have Shego wonder about the adrenaline rush of combat. I figured it was easier to settle it down to there. And yes, that was General Simms and Doctor Director together with the team.**

*** I have no idea how Mrs. Lipski doesn't realize Drew is a mad scientist. I mean, FFS, how many times has he been on the news as a supervillain? Either she's lost it a long time ago or she really believes Drew Lipski is a genuine nice guy. Who knows, but we know Drakken can get pretty low *cough* Eric *Cough***

**-=Document Recovery: GJA-13 'Diamond Back'=-**

_Source: Global Justice Database_

_Subject:__ Global Justice Armaments 13_

_Weapon Nickname:__ "Diamond Back"_

_Weapon Type:__ Automatic Assault Rifle_

_Tech Rating:__ T-5_

_Current Predominant Users:__ Global Justice, Power Busters Division_

_Maximum Effective Range:__ 200 Yards_

_General Effective Range:__ 100 Yards_

_Ammunition Type:__ Energy Rounds_

_Ammunition Capacity:__ 40 Rounds per Battery_

_- The GJA-13 "Diamond Back" assault rifle was introduced in April 2006 for Global Justice and Power Buster Division soldiers to use, in acknowledgement that they lacked extremely effective medium range capabilities that were non-lethal yet still usable in combat situations. It was the first true laser rifle to be produced en masse for military operations, and has served admirably. Pitched by Global Justice scientists working alongside PBD Brigadier General Gary "Pinpoint" Townes as a multi-setting weapon that can be lethal or non-lethal as circumstances dictated, the weapon has proved to be a useful and trustworthy weapon for any GJ or PBD soldier in the field. It is usable with only basic training with assault rifles, and is extremely straightforward to use, meaning that anyone with familiarity enough with a rifle would be capable of easily making use of it with minimal difficulty in operation._

_- Acknowledging the fact that melee combat occurs and that there is not always time to put it away for using melee weapons such as riot batons, GJ scientists added an energy bayonet to the basic model prior to offer some lethal force in close range while out of ammunition. The energy bayonet's power is independent of the actual firing mechanism, and can run for an average of five minutes before burning out. However, in-combat usage causes surges in it, meaning that five minutes is the maximum if one is fortunate. However, its setting cannot be adjusted as it is a cutting weapon, so GJ agents are reminded to be careful what they impale with the energy bayonet, as to quote Captain Lucas B. Sunspot of PBD; "You're pretty much stabbing them with lightsabers; lightsabers don't have stun settings."_

_- The weapon is also notable for being extremely easy to add modulated upgrades to, many GJ agents adding power regulators to increase the standard ammunition capacity from forty per battery to fifty, though this popular upgrade is too difficult to properly mass produce, usually issued out to veteran agents and officers. Mechanically gifted agents have been noted to tweak their rifles to improved capacity, but mass production of such tweaks has proven difficult. Regardless, this easy modification is a boon to GJ agents as it can allow them to use something familiar to them._

_- The weapon is hailed as extremely reliable, and while the GJA-15 is in the process of phasing it out gradually, the GJA-13 is likely to remain for a long time as a basic weapon for Global Justice agents and PBD soldiers to use prior to being issued a GJA-15. Reserve stashes of these weapons and ammunition for such are being created by both GJ and PBD for emergency situations. They are also extremely durable, and have been noted to survive having their stocks used as clubs against defensive supers, including the infamous "Stone Hulk" of Greenwich._


	14. Chapter 14: Jetpacks and Scions

_"Ah, Kim and I, we made such a great team! I had all sorts of cool powers, she was a badass who could take on Chuck Norris, we fought crime ya'know? A lot of people really underestimated what Kim and I could pull together. We even underestimated ourselves, sometimes. As long as we were together, it was _impossible_ to stop us; we were flat out _unstoppable_ puns intended_._ Kim was immune to sapper hits, my powers let me take abuse that would kill even a superhuman, we complemented each other in so many ways in the battle field... and off of it? We were two halves of a whole. She was the achiever, she pushed and drove, while I was laid back, the enjoyment of life. We balanced each other out, she pulled me along when I started slacking and I helped her from forgetting that sometimes life needs to be enjoyed. Humans only live about a hundred years if we're lucky, so yeah."_

- Ron Stoppable, on his relationship with Kim Possible, as recorded in his _Liber Memoriarum_

_"Kim, we just got word on Dementor. He's on the move to Miami. GJ thinks he's after Doctor Emilie Sharper, who's been doing research on semi-casual space flight. [...] Alright, I contacted Agent Rider, he's going to be giving you a ride and you'll paradrop right down into the lab, just in case Dementor beats you there."_

- Wade Load briefing Kim Possible on Dementor's latest scheme

**Chapter 14: Jetpacks and Scions**

**July 30th, 2007**

**Miami, Florida**

"Thanks for the lift, Agent Rider!" Kim called as she readied her parachute.

"Least I can do after you pulled Jack out of Santa Monica!"

"No big, it was just a pair of assassins." Kim answered, giving him a nod before jumping out of the plane. She was going to be landing just outside the city as Dementor had a small time share lair somewhere nearby. Doctor Sharper's lab and house was also on the outskirts. Kim did not wear the battle suit as they theorized that while wearing it Kim would be vulnerable to sapper strikes, and Wade had taken it apart for modifications. Besides, they had decided not to test the theory until they could try it in a controlled environment. She free fell, skydiving down as she saw her landing zone; a clearing on the outskirts of the doctor's laboratory. She took stock of the landing zone and pulled the string, the parachute expanding into a sheet, GJ's insignia stamped onto the top and braced herself to release the pack early. She had to hit the ground running.

"_Take her down!_" shouted one of the grey clad men in the lab facility, grabbing a shock staff and taking shots into the air. The blue burst sped past, GJA-13 fire audible in the facility itself. A set of blasts shot into the air and a grenade was thrown. The blasts caught the parachute, destroying one of the strings and causing it to lose balance. Kim readied herself for the pain as she tumbled down the last story of her drop and rolled forward, the grenade exploding in the distance behind her. She unhooked the parachute as she came to a brief stop.

The facility was swarming with shock staff armed synthodrones with a grey color scheme and a much smaller number of henchmen commanding the efforts. A GJ agent with a GJA-14 blasted a group of synthodrones down with the energy shotgun, pumping to reload when an energy burst crashed into him and sent him flying into the wall and knocked him out. GJ auto turrets were lying in smoking piles of scrap steel and there were downed agents all over the place.

"_It's Possible! Take her down!_" a henchman shouted and charged her. Kim rolled forward again and tripped him up, sending him tumbling over her. As she came up, synthodrones began to charge her. She grabbed one's shock staff and knocked the drone away, taking a shot with the staff and blasting another synthodrone down. Spinning the staff and parrying the blows of nearby drones, she began to carve them with the shock staff. Synthogoo spilled onto the ground and splattered onto her as she cut through them. _Gross,_ she thought as some of the goo landed on her cheek. Wiping it off in the brief reprieve she had as the next drone started closing the distance, she hurled the shock staff into the drone. The staff hit and shot energy through the drone, overpowering its circuits and causing them to detonate. The drone collapsed quickly.

The fierce melee resumed again as more drones attacked. She beat her way through them, her hands quickly becoming soaked in synthogoo as she punched hard enough to break through their thin skin. It was thicker than a humans, but by far weaker, and she used that to her advantage. She hurled the last drone away as the henchmen finally decided to get involved with her. "Get her!" one of them shouted.

Kim smirked as she flipped away from the first blow, spinning on one foot as she landed and kicking the henchman square in the chest, sending him back into a heavy. The heavy grunted as his comrade was hurled into him and was knocked backwards. A grenadier pulled the pins on his grenades and threw them towards her. She leapt clear and drew her shock stick, stunning the grenade-using henchman and causing him to collapse.

"_Help!_" a woman shouted. Kim looked up; at the top of the facility Dementor's henchmen had grabbed the doctor and a helicopter was coming down. Kim sprinted between the remaining henchmen and drones, dodging them as she tried to hurry her way to the facility where she could climb up the gutter drainage pipes. _Good thing Wade gave me those magno-rings again._ she decided as she slipped them on and started climbing. Blasts followed her, but they weren't accurate enough to hit her and simply left scorch marks on the building.

Flipping over the ledge at the top, she arrived in time to see the doctor being pulled onto the landing helicopter while four henchmen were backing up towards it, a grenadier holding an electrically charged disc. He threw it at her and Kim leapt over, the disc soaring into the distance as she charged towards the helicopter and fired her grappling hook onto the back while she was still in range. The grappling hook hit and she let the motor pull herself closer...

But Dementor had figured the trick out; the back hatch opened and a henchman cut the line before Kim had gotten too high. She fell with a scream and landed with a grunt on the rooftop again. Pain shot through her body as she landed, causing her to curl in pain before she pushed herself up awkwardly, only able to glare at the helicopter as it sped away.

_Beep beep be-beep._

"Go Wade," she said. It hurt to talk.

_"Kim, I have a lock on the helicopter. Dementor has a lair not too far from _Chez Leisure_."_

"Bad idea," Kim commented before coughing roughly, "to set up a lair there."

_"Agreed. Kim, you feeling alright?"_

"Just a two and a half story drop," she answered as her ribcage seared in pain. "I'll be fine... GJ know the base is open?"

_"Yeah... hang on, getting another transmission... it's PBD."_

A new image appeared on the Kimmunicator; a man in a PBD general's uniform wearing a pair of nerd-like glasses. He nodded to her,_ "Miss Possible. I'm Brigadier General Gary Townes; I just received word of the attack on the GJ facility. If you want assistance in going after Dementor, just ask, but I've already dispatched forces to clear the facility of synthodrones."_

Kim could hear more helicopters in the distance, which she assumed were PBD. "Thanks... they got the doctor, I wasn't here fast enough."

_"It's alright; don't beat yourself up. You can't be everywhere. You have the location, though. We'll give you an airlift to a nearby landmark."_

Wade cut in; _"That'd be _Chez Leisure,_ the helicopter is touching down in the nearby morass."_

Townes looked surprised, raising an eyebrow, "_The idiot thought it was safe to build a base in the _morass_? Forget that it's in an area I'm cleared for free firing the big charges, those seniors are _scary_."_

XX

**Middleton, Colorado**

It was almost night in Middleton now as a group prepared to breach the Tri-City Museum, closing up for the night.

"Be silent, we must strike swiftly and brutally. Kill any who oppose you."

XX

"Nothing on my end sir... Ten four." a PBD soldier said as they checked in from the robotics exhibit in the museum. It was in the back on the ground floor.

"This place gives me the creeps," his partner said, gesturing to the Diablos, "Next thing you know they'll put up a model of those damn alien walkers."

"Yeah, I know... hey, what's that?"

The two turned, looking at the window as it began to glow red, a figure behind it...

"Sir, we got something in the robotics exhibit... _motherfucker!_"

The window exploded, burning hot glass shooting into the exhibit, some of it melted down to sand before it even reached them. They opened fire with their GJA-13's as an alarm went off. The figure stepped in, flashes of a rune-engraved sphere appearing as it absorbed the energy rounds. He raised a hand, chanting something and suddenly he dropped his rifle, clutching his neck instinctively, but he wasn't choking. He felt something assaulting his entire body, sharp jabs of pain blinding him before he dropped dead after twenty seconds.

In the open space, white flashes and the hum of energy came as a full force of intruders materialized in the museum, bypassing much of the security.

XX

**GJ Headquarters**

Will Du was wide awake as the alarm went off, holding his GJA-15 _Vindicator_ as he reported. "Doctor Director, ma'am!"

"Agent Du, get your men to the Tri-City Museum. They're back."

"Ma'am!"

XX

**Tri City Museum**

Sergeant Daniel Shane turned as the door came blasting down, opening fire. Several men and women charged through the smoke with assorted weapons, all some variation of archaic melee. "Gun them down!" he ordered as they all took cover, his half squad laying down suppressive fire rapidly. The enemy soldiers' shields flashed a few time before collapsing and stun rounds ripped through the chainmail wearing enemies. He pulled the pin from a flash bang grenade and hurled it into the breached door. It exploded, stunning more of the enemies.

Flashes of energy came his way, catching two of his soldiers and knocking them back into the wall. One of the others checked him and swore, "He's dead, sir!"

_Shit!_ He keyed his radio while he laid down more shots, "Sir, enemy is going full lethal!"

_"Copy that. Enemies verified. You are authorized to use lethal force!"_

"Yes sir. Lethal force boys!" He switched his GJA's lethality and resumed firing, the enemy soldiers dropping with burn marks in their chest. He wasn't sure why they were authorized to use lethal force; they generally weren't authorized unless the enemy was part of a fairly selective list.

He could hear chanting behind the two dozen downed and dying enemy soldiers, some with disturbing red foam at their mouths, others without. Suddenly, a fireball flew into the room and detonated in the center of the hallway. The explosion blasted Shane into wall and caused him to collapse. More enemy soldiers ran by, jumping over the dead. Two men in robes with a red and black pattern followed them, a heavy man in armor behind them with another tabard of same color carrying a broad sword and shield. They passed and went for the exhibit on early villainy. _Shit, the Liber Arcessere!_

He dialed his headset, grunting from pain between words, "This is... sergeant Shane... enemy forces... going for... _Liber Arcessere_... my men're... wounded..."

_"Stand by, GJ reinforcements en route."_ said another voice, that of a calm soldier.

XX

Doctor Director watched the feed of the _Liber Arcessere_ as they smashed the glass casing open. "Agent Du, get in there!"

_"We're almost there, Doctor Director, hang on!"_

Now she wished she didn't let Kim get the tip about Dementor down in Florida._ If this isn't just coincidence, I'm going to be finding the source and hanging him from a tree._ The dark thought stayed in the back of her mind as another squad of PBD soldiers came on the scene, spraying down lethal volumes of fire and burned down the cannon fodder, but a single blast of magical energy in a fiery form blew the PBD soldiers back out.

_"Gunship going in."_ came the call from a PBD pilot over the radio as it hovered right outside the museum door. Shooting a tear gas rocket inside, the helicopter moved clear so Will Du's team, wearing gas masks to shield themselves from the tear gas, could be inserted by a GJV-38 hovercraft.

_"This is Watcher. I have a mark on the leader. Opening fire!"_

Sniper rounds sped into the museum and into the group of enemies as Will Du's team jumped into the museum's windows, guns blazing.

XX

"GO GO GO!" Will shouted as they jumped off the hovercraft. He threw a flash bang grenade into the enemy group, the explosion of noise causing the cannon fodder soldiers to collapse. _It's those guys from Warsaw!_ he quickly realized, shooting lethal rounds at the enemy soldiers. The heavy knight had a barrier flash up as he turned towards them and charged. Will switched the GJA-15 to shotgun mode and rolled out of the way as he closed, the knight missing but slashing another agent. Will shot the knight in the back, staggering him briefly as the PBD gunship spat in a barrage of stun rounds.

Most of the cannon fodder soldiers were dead or dying by being blasted or their unusual suicide foam. The knight was in close, however, giving the GJ agents hell. The two magic users were taking cover towards the back, one maintaining some barrier, the other chanting. The knight broke off and moved towards them as the last few cannon fodder soldiers desperately moved back, only to be shot down by GJ's agents and PBD reinforcements arriving.

_"This is Watcher; Agent Du, get out of my way!"_

Will threw himself to the floor to a prone position and opened fire, an armor piercing sniper round, no, _four_ rounds sped over his head in close succession, impacting the barrier and killing the spellcaster maintaining the barrier as it broke through.

But it was too late; the other spellcaster had finished his teleportation, taking with it the knight, the dead mage as he fell as well as the bodies nearby; a few of the cannon fodder, and one of PBD's dead. Will rose up, looking around. The flurry of activity ended, weapons having the safeties flipped on and men were checking the dead. Few of PBD or GJ's reinforcements were wounded... almost all who were stationed were either wounded or dead. As for the enemy attackers, none of them survived. They cleared the entire building, sweeping it floor by floor for survivors.

Will knelt as he checked a PBD sergeant with the name '_Shane_' stamped onto the charred breastplate. Taking the soldier's helmet off, he checked the pulse. It was faint... "Medic!" Will called, "This one's alive!"

A medically-trained GJ agent hurried over, pulling the materials out of his field backpack and set to work as Will checked the other soldiers in the small hallway.

XX

**GJ Headquarters**

Doctor Director was on the line with General Malta, sitting in her office for a private discussion between the officers. "It's clear that whoever this 'Conclave' is, they either have two arms or we're being played as fiddles."

Malta nodded, _"I agree. It may be worth checking into Thackeray's story of trying to prevent another theft, given this. Do we have a lock on the Liber Arcessere?_"

"We're tracing to somewhere near Post Mystic Cove Haven."

_"Possible is somewhat close to that area, if Townes gives her transport. Screw their historical accuracy, this is a problem."_

Doctor Director nodded, "We don't know how much longer the signal will remain, but according to what I know Possible is at the tail end of an engagement with Dementor's henchmen in the morass near where her grandmother lives. We'll send an agent to rendezvous with her at Chez Leisure, it's likely Kim will attempt to visit her grandmother while she's in the area."

Malta nodded, _"Much as I like letting family reunions occur, this is a time of great speed being needed. We need to get a lid on those teleport-capable supers. If they keep porting out before we can take them down, we'll have problems. At least we can confirm one person they care about is dead, Corporal Summers got one."_

Doctor Director nodded; the four round rapid with a _bolt action_ sniper rifle was fairly impressive, even if the bolt action was for refiring, not actual reloading. "Still, we have to identify how they got in."

"_According to security cameras, one of the spellcasters materialized out of thin air, like he was cloaked. When he de-cloaked, he was putting a hand on the glass of the robotics exhibit and charged it with some sort of magic, blasting the window in before throwing a fireball in to blow up a pair of my men. The only working camera in there then showed the enemy soldiers teleporting in."_

"But why teleport on the ground floor?" she asked, "If they could teleport in, why would they do it on the ground floor and not directly inside."

_"The footage looked like they were only partially in it when they appeared and it took them a few moments to regain their footling. Likely means that they're vulnerable upon arrival, so they had one of their number clear the spot."_

She nodded, "That makes sense. We'll find these men, General. Even if it's just Miss Possible going after them, we'll find them."

Malta nodded, _"Just remember, Doctor Director, we may have a chance to break whatever it is. If we get that chance, we need to shatter them so we can get a grip on them and clamp down this threat by whatever means necessary."_

XX

XX

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

"Stoppable-san," Sensei said at the doorway, "Come, we have much to discuss, and little time to do so."

Ron nodded with a faint groan, getting up from his bed and quickly pulling the white training outfit on. "No, your mission equipment." Sensei said, causing Ron to frown as he looked at him, then nodded, grabbing the set and pulling it on before he followed Sensei out of his room into the main dojo. It was night at Yamanouchi, early in the morning before daybreak. Sensei held a small candle. Within, Sensei turned, the handle in one hand and a small crystal in the other.

"You need to learn, Stoppable-san. The enemy we have spoken of is known as the Magocracy. In ancient days, before the age of the first city-states, before most of recorded history. It was an empire built on magical power, one where magic was required to go anywhere in society and put those without powers in a position no better than slavery. When it fell at the hand of the original Conclave, then a union of those who had enough of magical dominance over their fellow man, they decided to erase it from history until humanity had developed a stable society without magic that could _survive_ introduction of it. Magic was too dangerous to allow it to remain known. It was hidden to prevent conquerors from discovering it and using it to their advantage."

Ron blinked, barely awake. "Wha'?"

"The Conclave hid magic in the fall of the Magocracy to prevent it from being abused. It took a burden of hiding it and _**not**_ using it when possible to give those without a chance to find a way to meet it. What was left of the Magocracy was exiled beyond, fled through a portal to the unknown. But the conflict was not over, they swore to return one day. We did not know exactly when they would, but the chronomancers I sent you to used their powers to predict. They predicted they would return. The prophecy you recovered was the very thing they forged. They were neutral in the conflict, and since neither party could fully strangle the other at the war, they settled the peace."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier, Sensei?" Ron asked, "That knowledge might of helped Kim or Wade investigate."

"The period said for the conflict to begin will not come until 2008. Once that time comes, the final preparations of conflict could come and the skirmishes begin. We would be given more knowledge as contained in the crystal you recovered. What I have given you was what you needed at the time to succeed."

"So your way of telling me is when the war starts?" Ron asked angrily, tightening his hands into fists.

"No." Sensei answered, strong in conviction, "I intended your training to be as uninterrupted as possible, but it is now clear that the Magocracy is returning early to gain every advantage it can, we cannot wait. The _Liber Arcessere_ was stolen a mere hour ago, and the Conclave is readying itself."

"So these guys get an army, great, Kim and I can just go in and take the book back and smash the keystone of the army. Kaboom, it goes up like a naco fiesta."

"They will use it to begin their war by proxy. They will use it to summon large amounts of vulnari to Earth, and then direct them to old strongholds of their power and to _reclaim_ them while causing as much damage to the Conclave and the world's nations as they can." he explained, calm yet grave. "They have already teleported to their lair from a place near the town known as _Port Mystic Cove Haven_. It is a hidden enclave that Conclave diviners recently discovered off the Russian coast. None were able to close in quickly enough to stop their escape."

Ron gave a firm nod, "I'll contact Kim and we'll handle this."

Sensei shook his head, "There is an agent already planting the incriminating information and manipulating a group of zealots known as the _Order of Faith's Inquisition_ operating nearby, and will manipulate events so that Kim can get it and the location."

Ron sagged, "Why can't they just give it to her directly? She trusts you, Sensei, she trusts me. If we send the..."

Sensei cut him off, "There is no time for _us_ to make contact. The knowledge that I'm about to impart to you through this crystal," he held it up, "cannot be translated into words so easily. If timing has gone well, Kim is already being given the knowledge." He pushed the crystal into Ron's hand, and images flashed by him rapidly. It disoriented him, nearly knocking him out from shock. But it told him what he needed to know: The location he had to travel, the general layout of where he was going. He nodded, "Just tell me how I'll get there."

"There's a teleportation circle a few kilometers to the north of Mount Yamanouchi. It has likely been taken by the Magocracy as it is within range for rapid usage into their lair." Sensei hid the crystal in his robe and walked to the mantelpiece, taking the case from the top and bringing it to him. "It is time you drew the Lotus Blade, Stoppable-san. To wield it."

Ron nodded slowly. He understood how grave the situation was now, if Sensei was offering him the Lotus Blade _now_ rather than when his training was completed. He took the pommel of the sword and held it, feeling the weight of responsibility for the weapon. Ron noticed for the first time a sheathe for the blade below where it normally rested, and took it. He glanced to his belt and realized he didn't have an easy place to sheathe it. _I'll MacGyver one later._ For now, he turned the Lotus Blade into a small ring on his finger. Experimentally, he transformed the blade back. It materialized in his grasp, pushing his hand out so it could properly materialize. He smiled, glad he wouldn't accidently impale himself trying that trick.

"I can give you little else that you do not already have, Stoppable-san," Sensei explained, looking to him deeply, "but I warn you this: Every warrior of the Magocracy from their conscripts to their champions will be shielded by wards. Their wards will protect them from both physical projectiles and any magical assault. While most will be weak and will only give them partial protection, stronger and more important leaders will be better protected. Be wary of their magic. While your ward training is incomplete, it will protect you against most attacks and they will find it difficult to magically execute you if your mind is hardened by battle. Use your powers wisely, for they are an even greater responsibility than their power. The ferocity of the ancients is within you, as it is within all, but you have called on it and know how it inhabits your body. When all else fails, that ferocity can grow into the fury of a hero, if you are willing to accept its price. Go, your training is not finished, but you are ready."

XX

**Morass**

**Near **_**Chez Leisure**_**, Florida**

Kim was rolling onto her back as she kicked the last henchman out the window with both feet. He splashed into the morass. Coming up onto her feet again she hurried over to Doctor Sharper and used the laser lipstick to cut the rope binding her to a pole.

"Wow, you're amazing!" the doctor said as her hands were released, red from being bound together, "I've never _seen_ anyone go through guys like that!"

"No big, just henchmen." Kim commented as she pulled the doctor to her feet and lead her through the mass of probably twenty knocked out henchmen with assorted gear, "GJ has a ride waiting for us."

Outside the old lair, the same one Drakken had briefly inhabited with a simple renovation by Dementor, a GJV-38 hovercraft touched down and the two boarded. The doctor took her seat and strapped in as the hovercraft took off, flying back to the doctor's lab.

"Could you touch us down at Chez Leisure, pilot?" Kim asked as she walked to the front, "My nana lives there."

"Can't, ma'am," the pilot answered, "Orders. Doctor Director should be waiting for you."

Kim frowned, tapping a button on her wrist Kimmunicator. "Wade?"

"_Hang on, I'll patch you through. Things just got a lot more serious, Kim."_

She didn't know what he meant by that when Doctor Director appeared. "Alright, what's the stinkin' stich?"

_"The Liber Arcessere was stolen forty minutes ago. We are unsure of the assailants true identity, but it correlates to the 'Conclave' forces you fought, but are closer to those encountered by Agent Will Du or the Iron Claw gang in uniform. They struck with high powered magic and escaped much like Thackeray did."_

Kim nodded; sounded standard to her so far. "How bad?"

_"Twenty three PBD soldiers and GJ agents dead."_

**That** stunned her. And that told her this was much more serious than she thought it was going to be. Nodding, she said: "Where do you need me?"

_"We've traced them to Port Mystic Cove Haven. As soon as the good doctor is dropped off you're going to be flown there. Investigate the area and find out what you can, then we'll get you to wherever they're hiding as soon as possible."_

She nodded as the hovercraft began to descent towards the facility. It wasn't a long flight at all.

XXX

**6 Kilometers North of Mount Yamanouchi**

Ron gripped the Lotus Blade, Rufus standing next to him as he found the hidden cave Sensei had told him off. It was well concealed, but they found the key to opening it: A concealed pulley within. Normally a human wouldn't be able to reach it and would use magic, but Rufus was small enough to slip in. The naked mole rat climbed up the stone surface and crawled inside, the sounds of a pulley being moved manually audible before there was a dull and quiet thud. Rufus came back out and hopped down into Ron's open hand before being placed back into his pocket."Thanks buddy," Ron said as he turned to the opened door and went inside.

"OI!" shouted a guard in chainmail with a blood red and black tabard over it, wielding a great sword. The cave was somewhat small, a circle of runes in the center. There were two more guards, both carrying broad swords and a small buckler. _Those weapons don't look of high quality,_ Ron figured as he'd seen _Drakken's_ henchmen walking around with better. The one with a great sword charged, but Ron parried the blow with the Lotus Blade, putting a large chip into the sword as edge met edge. They traded several more blows until Ron charged with his magic and slashed down heavily, letting the charged Lotus Blade slash _through_ the sword. The effort sent a pang of weakness through his arms, but the man's sword was cut in half.

Ron followed it with a sturdy pommel strike to the face, knocking him backwards and causing him to drop the broken sword. The other two charged, but Ron simply smiled and charged more magic, a simian echo and blue light flashing as he stopped his foot down to create a brief shock. The burst smacked against the weak wards of the two conscripts, but the burst was enough to knock them backwards. One recovered and attacked, but Ron dodged the blow and kicked his opponent. The other one charged and slashed. Ron narrowly was able to block the blow and was knocked onto his back. The two were locked as they pushed against each other, the fully mature man proving stronger than Ron, who was still in the final stages of his growth.

Ron gained the upper hand, however, thanks to Rufus. The naked mole rat had snuck out of Ron's pocket and bit the man in the arm. The distraction let Ron pushed up and throw the man away, knocking him onto his comrades. He smiled and moved to the teleport circle, the memories Sensei had transferred to him telling him how to activate it. Rufus hopped into his pocket as Ron focused...

And in a flash of light, he vanished.

XX

**Port Mystic Cove Haven, South Carolina**

Kim jumped out of the hovercraft as it touched down just outside the town. It was still a very strong recreation of early America, though it wasn't what most people had in mind when they thought of the pre-Civil War South, given the town never had plantations from what they were told during their week there with a certain father of a school teacher. _I know exactly who I need to speak to; Franklin Barkin. If anyone knows about these Conclave goons, it'll be him._

As she came into the town, she knew she was getting odd looks from the townsfolk. Certainly she had figured out their 'recreation' was only partial, but she still stood out in her modern clothing. _Now, if I came here with my battle suit..._ she thought with amusement as she came to the town square, an older man walking out with his cane and wearing a brown overcoat. A parrot was on his shoulder as she stepped up onto the platform with the suit of 'armor' to speak with him. "Good day," he said with a warm smile as he spoke in ye olde (butchered) English. "'Tis a fine one, is it not?"

"Yeah, it is, but I'm not here for the view," Kim explained, "GJ just told me that a group in red and black passed by the town lately. Do you know anything about it?"

He nodded, "Aye, we saw two ruffians on the edge of town, heading for the outskirts of the town after a brief skirmish with another group." A brief pause, "But we've also had troubles of another sort. The group of knaves I mentioned are a false order claiming close relation to the Lord's will have come to our fair village green, to turn our fine townsfolk towards a crusade most foul. They come in grey, with a black tabard bearing a grey cross upon it. They preach of a foul touch that has grasped humanity, and hoped that our humble community would stand in their efforts against 'foul witchcraft'." He shook his head, "They hath done foul crime to us by taking the Silver Cutlass from yonder lighthouse and it is likely the shall return. Art thou willing to aid us?"

Kim weighed her options; she wouldn't mind helping and figuring out who they were, but would they lead her to the attackers from Middleton? She wasn't sure, but it seemed like they knew each other.

"I'll help if I can," she answered, "But my main job here is to find the two you mentioned."

"Mayor!" shouted a man wearing green as he ran up, "They're coming back!"

"Minutemen to arms!" Franklin called, ringing a nearby bell.

Everyone sped into their homes, and five seconds later one of the minutemen came out in full Continental Army kit and smiled, "Fifty-five seconds to spare."

Kim glanced to the elder Barkin, "You know that GJ has a hovercraft nearby, right? Fully loaded? If it comes to a fight I can just take care of it and GJ can pull the crooks out." Franklin stared at her with an eyebrow cocked. "Right, sorry."

Kim could make out the dust of a jeep in the distance and folded her arms, using the movement to conceal dialing Wade. Quietly, she whispered, "Wade, have the hovercraft ready for some air support. Just keep it quiet."

The connection cut as the jeep closed into the town, the minutemen taking various positions along the road to the town square where Kim and Franklin were standing. Four men crewed the jeep, one driver, a second in the passenger seat, and two behind with a large crate. None were overtly armed, but as they drove to a halt Kim spotted the pistols they holstered. Pistols that would probably by far outrange the early rifles the minutemen had, though at that range it was unlikely to matter. M-16 rifles were stacked along the crate.

"What do ye want?" Franklin asked crossly as they began to get out.

"To warn you," said the one that was in the passenger seat, a man who skewed older than the others. "Servants of the Devil have made camp near your hometown. We moved to purge them, but they escaped by foul witchcraft. It is likely they will return soon, and it is imperative for you to stand with the Order of Faith's Inquisition against the tide."

"So ye do not come in peace, then." Franklin dryly commented when the leader noticed Kim and a hand flew to his pistol.

"Y... you let _her_ into your town?" the leader exclaimed, stuttering.

"What, got a problem with strong, independent women?" Kim asked drolly as she put her hands on her hips, "Or you past that old misogynist Puritan nonsense?" She was fishing, but the name told her a lot about these renegades.

"You consort with users of abominable powers! Have you forgotten the Lord's grace?"

Kim rolled her eyes, "Great, like we don't have enough idiots ruining religion for the honest faithful. Come on, didn't Jesus preach forgiveness to your enemies and all?" _Not that I really live up to that, considering what I still want to do to Eric,_ she silently added to herself. "Now you're going around screaming crusade. Sounds like you share a fuel station for hate-fuel with some other zealots who give honest people of faith a bad name."

"Why you little _whore..._"

It devolved into a quick but bloodless scuffle. He tried to draw his pistol, but Kim drew quicker and shot first with her shock stick. As the other three tried to react and climb out, minutemen hustled into close quarters and tackled them, wrestling them down until Kim could close in and disable them properly. There was a beeping. Kim looked down and recognized the transponder on one of the zealots. They were going to have company _very_ soon. "We'll have more coming," she said as she held the transponder up, "Real soon."

He nodded and turned to one of the minutemen, "Get the women and children to safety, Yorrick."

The town became a bustle of preparation as they moved everyone out of the way. Kim just shook her head, "I'll go take care of them. Hit and run followed by a straight up brawl is more my style anyways."

As she went off, she caught Yorrick asking; _"Should we help her?"_

_"Nay,"_ the elder Barkin answered, _"Let the young maiden lass go... at least I _presume_ she is still a maiden..."_

XX

**Havana**

**Cuba**

If there was one thing an alien invasion wouldn't be able to destroy, something more resilient than cockroaches after a nuclear holocaust. Something bigger than an alien walker. Something that ran its systems faster than a cheetah in the open Savannah and could be more poisonous to one's (mental) health than too many shots of crack (or rima). Purification by fire and water would not stop its actions or remove it from the world. Even an act of God feeling like it was time for an Old Testament rerun wouldn't be capable of shutting it down entirely.

_Smarty Mart_. Sure, the gimmick and the poor sop in the brain costume was enough cringe that even Barney haters might reconsider their version of the Devil, but it just couldn't be stopped. No war could destroy the hard work of a man who started work at age ten. None of Drakken's schemes could delay the transactions of everyday folks for more than a day, even if he turned the entire place into a radioactive wasteland in the aftermath of a robot war. (Which nearly happened with the StockBots, given the Middleton Smarty Mart had a discount on toxic waste that week). Here you could find almost everything you need, even villains used it. Sure, HenchCo's entire _point_ was to cater to the villainous market, but when it came to the raw fuel that powered evil diets and the everyday comforts of lairs, Smarty Mart was the option. Cheap yet of quality, it sent the saying about quality oats and a fair price went out the window. It was even cheaper than oats that had already been through the horse in some cases, but actually edible.

And that was why she stopped by Havana; to pick up the groceries for the fortnight. Living on a lair generally meant keeping trips to the grocery store to a every two week thing rather than every week because of the hassle. She'd already grabbed most of the groceries-

A gunshot went off and everyone screamed. Shego spotted the thugs walking in, one of them holding a smoking shotgun one handed, presumably holding it up after firing it two handed into the ceiling while another thug beat the guard at the door with a quick club hit. A smoking cigar was in his mouth, shades over his eyes, and his huge mustache told her that this guy needed a few lessons in humility and a cure for testosterone poisoning. "Everyone on the ground, you're being robbed!" he shouted loudly. Most of the crowd did so, but Shego had handled idiots like this before. She charged her plasma and flung a blast of it at the man, catching his shotgun arm and knocking the weapon out of his hand. He swore and grabbed his hand, snarling at her as the three other thugs moved up, one carrying an old M1 Garand rifle while the other two had large clubs. The man with the rifle took a shot which missed wildly and shot into a line of milk cartons, spilling the white liquid from several before the bullet finally wedged itself into the wall behind them.

Shego leapt over and hurled a cone of smaller bursts of plasma down, the five bolts crashing near the thugs and causing them to scatter. As she landed, one of the club wielders swung at her only to get a punch in the face in return, knocking him out and burning his face thanks to the plasma charge behind it. The other thug yelled loudly as he charged her from behind. If he had been silent, he might of hit her. But he decided to spoil his sneak attack and for that, Shego simply punched him in the face with an offhand backhand, knocking him to the floor. The one with the rifle swung it uselessly like a club at her, but she charged her plasma and smashed it in half with both hands, smirking as the thug looked at the partially melted and smoking halves in horror. The move hurt, but Shego's superpowers easily let her take the injury from doing it.

"Run," she said, and the two thugs that had came in with guns ran screaming like little girls. Shaking her head, she looked around the store and walked back to the cart only to find the assistant manager of the store there, scowling at her. "Something I can help you with?" she asked.

"Out. Now." he stated harshly, "I don't want you mutant freaks in my store."

"Oh, so I just stopped you from being robbed and _this_ is how you thank me?"

"I said get out."

She snorted and walked out. This was why she preferred the Smarty Mart in Miami, but with PBD on high alert after their theft of the lorwardian data, she had to stick with the one in Havana. _Guess I'll have to head somewhere else. Maybe Bermuda..._

XX

**Port Mystic Cove Haven, South Carolina**

Kim smiled as she hid in the underbrush on the side of the road, watching the squad of nine soldiers belonging to the zealots of the so-called _Order of Faith's Inquisition_, unaware that they were about to become victims of an ambush. She pulled the pin from one of her flash bang grenades and gently rolled it out onto the road, sliding her shades on and covering her ears. One of the zealots saw the grenade and shouted a warning, but it was too late.

_Boom._ With a flash of white light and a dull thud, the entire group collapsed with shouts. She leapt out as she saw one crawling back up and quickly disabled him with several powerful kicks before going around to each of the zealots and using a precise and surgical nerve pinch to knock them out. _This is why I'm glad my mother's a brain surgeon; you pick up things._ Her ears were still ringing as she checked them for anything useful before finally finding a map to their camp and a copy of their orders. _So, they're to get PMCH on their side no matter what and hunt me, huh? Guess I'm a clever girl after all._ She opened the packs of one of the zealots and smiled as she found rope. Binding them all together and taking away their knives, she took a few minutes to hide them so the zealots, when they woke up, wouldn't be able to move from the tree Kim had them tied up to. She radioed the location to the GJ pilot so it could be relayed to the town. She couldn't drag them over; too many of them. Besides, she had to turn the hunters into hunted in their own camp.

Setting off into the woods, she crept through and briefly missed her old green khaki pants, which would have blended in much better than the purple and black she wore now. _Not that it'd help, I'm a redhead. Obvious doesn't begin to cover it considering how much hair I have,_ she mused as she crept through the thick woods. It was much easier to do it in her mission outfit than it was in period dress of the late 1700's. The woods were fairly silent save for the chirping of birds and the call of doves. A few squirrels were scurrying in the treetops as well.

Within ten minutes she reached their camp, secluded yet vulnerable. It was clear to her that they were not expecting any form of attack. No one was on watch and they seemed to be discussing things. Only three men were in the camp, one in more priestly garb but still field intended, a man who looked like a cook of sorts, and a lone trooper. _This will be the easiest lair bust ever,_ she thought with a smirk before she reminded herself this was hardly a lair. She crept closer, readying her shock stick. She had no intent of giving them a chance to react; she was going to beat down each one before they could react and ransack the camp for any information. Her gut told her she'd find something.

"Hey, what's that?" the soldier asked as Kim stepped on a branch, muscles instantly tense as she ducked behind the bush. He grabbed his M-16 rifle and pointed it towards where she was, walking closer. It didn't have a bayonet mount, but she could make out a combat knife sheathed on his shoulder guard. As he closed in on the bush, Kim grabbed his leg and tugged, sending the zealot flying onto his back and the M-16 landed pointing away. She leapt onto him and hit him in the face, knocking his head into the ground with a dull thud. He reached for the knife and let go of the M-16, but Kim grabbed his hand with her right and drew the knife with her left, throwing it into a nearby tree trunk before punching him one last time with her left hand, knocking him out. She grabbed the M-16 and pointed it at the other two, "Hands in the air!" she shouted, bluffing.

"You won't shoot us. You're not a killer." the priestly man of the two said, smirking at her.

Kim nodded as he called her bluff, "You're right," she ejected the ammunition case and tossed the M-16 aside, "But I don't need a gun to beat you two down."

"So be it!" The priest-like zealot drew a knife while the cook grabbed a cleaver. Kim drew her shock stick and zapped the priest-like one, causing him to collapse and the cook kept charging with his cleaver. She met him, dodging a swing of the axe-like cleaver before grabbing his wrist and disarming him, the cleaver sticking into the ground as it landed. He swung a punch and hit her in the gut, knocking the wind out of her, but Kim retaliated with a swift leg sweep, causing him to trip backwards. He rolled out of the way as she followed with a punch that hit the ground and stood back up. Kim walked up to him and started to kick towards his chest. Right, left, right again, using the other foot as a pivot point as she swung her legs at him and knocked him backwards into a tree, leaving him unconscious. She checked the other two, the first zealot reaching for his M-16 again. Stepping on his hand, he looked up she shook her head and knocked him out again.

"Zealots." she said disappointedly with a shake of her head as she salvaged more rope from the camp and tied the three to a tree, making sure their weapons weren't with them. "I respect the dedication... fighting skills, not so much." She radioed the location to GJ via her wrist Kimmunicator and started ransacking the camp, frowning as she looked for evidence and the Silver Cutlass, moving bits and pieces around.

"No, don't need a copy of the Bible... not a fan of combat knives... not sure what that is... holy hand grenades in fives are right out... ah!"

She found it; a map tied together with a note saying it was taken from the two they fought earlier, dropped by them. Kim smiled and opened it; it was a map of the Russian coast, including GPS coordinates. Next to the map was the Silver Cutlass, which she could easily return before heading out. "Wade, I found the location where they took the _Liber Arcessere_, scanning it for you now."

_"Got it Kim... whoa, hope you brought your snow gear, it's off the coast of Siberia."_

"Got a ride lined up?"

"_Nothing that'll be rapid... hang on, Doctor Director is on the line."_

Doctor Director came up, _"I just saw the update. Good work, Kim. We'll get a support squad ready to help in the attack, since it'll take time for you to get there anyways. We have to hit hard and fast before they move lairs again."_

Kim frowned as she thought about ways to get there quickly; "Doctor Director, doesn't GJ have experimental hypersonic scramjets?"

_"Experimental, but we have a working prototype near our Colorado Springs base set to head to our Siberian base. Why?"_

"That's how I'll get there before they move again."

_"The nearest landing pad for the craft is over 1,600 kilometers away..."_

"I'll paradrop," Kim said casually as she left the camp site, "Wade, can you send the battle suit to the GJ airbase at Colorado Springs?"

_"I won't be able to get it ready in time, but I can send some other gear."_

"Do it, Wade. Jetpack too, I may want that for the insertion given I'll be bailing out a _really_ fast jet."

Doctor Director shook her head, _"You're crazy, Possible. Just crazy enough to pull this off. Alright, I'll green light this and get reinforcements to you as soon as possible."_

XX

**Magocracy Lair**

**Just off the Russian Coast; Siberian side**

Ron was hapless as he was warped in by the teleport circle. For five seconds, he felt himself materializing, gaining his substance back. When it wore off, he shook his head to shake feelings of nausea away. When he came to his senses, he realized he was staring down a group of six spearmen, all pointing their spears at him. "Ah fudgesticks..." he muttered as he drew the Lotus Blade again, "Come on, let's see what you got!"

They charged, jabbing the spears at him. Ron ducked under the blows and severed the spear tips with swift cuts of the Lotus Blade, the metal points landing on the floor. The spears reduced to staves, the soldiers attacked again, but Ron simply charged his magic. A simian echo and blue flash followed as he stomped his foot. The burst knocked down the group, leaving them defeated. Ron stumbled backwards from the drain, surprised that it took him so much. _It's a lot easier to take down drones than it is people, I guess,_ he thought as he looked around. He was in a stonework interior hewn from grey rock. It seemed to be solid enough as it withstood the burst of magical energy.

He moved forward down the corridor, coming onto an open door. As he stepped through it, he found himself in a larger corridor, a gate visible in the distance with the mechanism hidden above. His hair stood on end as he felt magical power being activated... considerable volumes of it. He felt a mental lance hit him before a familiar voice came into his head: "_Peace, Stoppable-san, I'll guide you."_

"Sensei?" he asked quietly.

_"Yes. I have meditated, and if you allow me to maintain this connection I will aid your journey with guidance, so that your efforts are correct. I sense a powerful ritual of High Magic beginning, it is likely the Liber Arcessere is now in use. You must stop the ritual."_

"Thanks. I won't let you down." With that, Ron moved forward, rubble obstructing his path somewhat and forcing him to crawl over it. He heard a howl and turned, a ghostly wolf in grey rags with a green center came out of a hole and charged. Ron twirled the Lotus Blade before impaling the wolf in the throat as it leapt at him, spinning to throw the spectral wolf off. It dissipated with a howl as it hit. "What is this thing?" he asked.

_"That is a vulnari. They come in the shape of animals, but are spectral in nature. They are an conundrum of solid and intangible. You have encountered some, but not by their name."_ Ron immediately recalled the mission he went on to get the prophecy fragments and the ghost monkeys he'd encountered. _So that's what the things are... not so tough._

"They don't seem tough," Ron commented as he leapt over another pile of rubble, a pair of vulnari wolves attacking from the front again. He easily dispatched them by jumping over the charge with his rocket boots, causing them to slam into the rubble and left them open for two swift slashes. He turned and a third one charged, slashing at him and scratching his arm as he raised his left one to protect his face. He growled and punched the wolf, staggering it and causing it to dissipate.

_"The weaker ones take the shapes of smaller animals, and without augmentation they are generally, as you might say, one hit wonders. But with simple augmentation or merely being a more powerful tier of summoning, they can take multiple hits. Their nature allows them to take the same number of hits regardless of source; a large sword slash will do just as much damage as a precise bullet."_

"That's weird," Ron commented as he came up to the gate and opened his pocket, "Rufus, you're on."

"Oh-kay!" Rufus chirped as he hopped out and climbed the wall. Ron turned as another vulnari came up, a puma. Faster than the wolf, it charged and pounced, pinning Ron against the door before he impaled it with the Lotus Blade, "Bad kitty!" he said as the spectral beast fell off of him. A moment later, the sound of chains moving was heard and Ron turned, divining out of the way as the door opened like a drawbridge. Rolling on the floor as he turned around, Rufus came out of the hidden mechanism and hopped back into his pocket. "Thanks buddy,"

_"You will be able to deactivate the defenses, but you will reactivate them elsewhere, at the main gate. Be cautious, I can sense another presence there as well."_

"Got it." Ron wondered who the familiar presence was, but he had a feeling it wasn't Kim or Yori. _It could be Fukishima or DNAmy... wait, former's dead, latter's in Cell Block D._

XX

**Airspace over Magocracy Lair**

Kim keyed the radio in her helmet, jetpack ready. "Alright, I'm ready. Launch me!"

The bay door opened and Kim activated the jetpack for a short hover-grade burst. It was a crazy scheme, she had to admit it. Flying at absurd speeds, she was going to activate the jetpack so she hovered and then let nature carry her out into the airspace above and effectively paradrop down into the lair. Wearing GJ standard snow gear (as Kim's regular set was in the wash), Kim had been equipped by Wade with several new toys. First of all, he resupplied her with flash bang grenades, but he also sent her several sonic mines, citing that she might need to demolish doors or sections of a wall in a hurry. She had also been provided with three prototype 'Sapper-Burst' grenades, which were not as powerful as the sapper but could drain powers in a brief burst to disrupt powers. Other than those additions, she was running mostly with standard gear; grappling hook, super-sticky gum, shock stick, EMS, and emergency medical gear packed in a small package the size of a cigar case. _Not that it would of helped me much if I got shot,_ she had thought when she was given the kit, mostly just painkiller and some gauze.

But now she was spinning in midair at a few thousand feet in the air. Oxygen was thin and the wind was biting, almost tearing through and eviscerating her suit like a lightsaber firing machine gun. She came out of the spinning as the jetpack's timed hover burst ended and she skydived down towards the earth. She felt light headed as she began the rapid descent, but the thrill of the adrenaline kept her awake as she sped down. Things blurred, but she wasn't concerned as she was diving at high speed. Then she partially blacked out and felt her body tumbling down rather than a controlled dive.

She fell for limitless time, it seemed. She felt stuck in limbo, struggling against the G-forces to reach the jetpack and turn it on to slow her descent. Her hand was thrown about as she continued to tumble to her death. _Come on,_ she thought foggily as she tried to come to her senses enough to force her hand through the G-forces. _Work for Kim..._

She continued to fall, and briefly wondered how it'd look. _Kim Possible; died in a multi-thousand drop from a Scramjet prototype without a parachute. Way to go, cheerleader..._ she could see Bonnie laughing, _laughing_ at a magazine image.

The thought stuck in her head and she forced herself awake, head pounding like a thunderstorm as she forced her hand to the jetpack control and turned it on, the rest of the design springing into place and giving her controls that hung near her waist. Grabbing them, she stabilized and came to a vertical position, slowing down. She cut most of the fuel to continue the paradrop, but adjusted the fuel push to let her practically paraglide down. She saw her target: A small island with a massive stone fortress on it. _How the hell Ivan missed this I'll never know..._

As she closed to 500 feet, she could make out four spires with glowing blue crystals on top, which she concluded were some sort of defense. They were placed at the corners of the lair. They began to glow even more powerfully, and she heard a burst of energy fire. She barely had time to dodge as a powerful blast soared up, nearly vaporizing her. Switching to full fuel, Kim began to fly down, dodging and weaving the powerful bursts that came up. _Least they're one shot before readjustment,_ she decided as she pulled many of the evasive maneuvers she knew on her way to the landing.

She pulled out of her dive, skidding along the water briefly as she came out at sea level and sped towards the island. The powerful blasts kept coming, but they weren't accurate enough to track her at the speeds she was going. Smiling, she saw a beachhead with a simple stone barrier about five feet high, a door behind it. Priming a sonic mine, she flew by and dropped it on the doorway with a diamond -shaped sigil of a pattern she didn't take time to identify before speeding by and looped around. The sonic mine went off and the door disintegrated as the sonic waves demolished it. As she sped towards the door, a beam of multispectral light shot into the air and occupied the airspace over the lair but between the four-point tower perimeter. She sped inside, realizing that the _Liber Arcessere_ was in use already and cut the jetpack, flipping as she landed and stood ready.

"Oh you gotta be _kidding me_!" someone shouted. Kim looked around and realized she landed in a room with a pair of men carrying pikes, wearing chainmail with a black and blood red tabard over it. "Not an innate!"

Kim smirked and gestured with her right hand for them to come at her. They looked at each other before charging together. Kim leapt over their pike thrusts and came behind one, grabbing him and hurling him into his comrade. The pikes clattered to the floor as the two crashed into the stone wall, a torch above shaking and shooting sparks in several directions but not catching anything on fire.

_Beep beep be-beep,_

"Go Wade," Kim said.

_"Good landing, Kim. I just did a tech scan, something big is going on in there and I've detected a massive energy signature."_

"Standard evil lair?"

_"Just about if you magnified it a bit. The power signature is growing slowly. Give it a couple hours and the norks might notice something's wrong, but don't be surprised if the Chinese find out first."_

"Got it, Wade. GJ promises to keep the airstrikes off my back, right?"

_"No promises with the norks, but GJ's Chinese agents are certainly willing to agree on holding off the airstrikes until it's clear you've failed. Reinforcements from a nearby Russian force are going to be coming, but it'll be an hour or so until they can get in the air."_

"There's AA defenses, I don't think they'll be able to affect a safe landing," Kim pointed out, "Upload me a map. Anything else?"

_"Yeah, there's a lot of interference. It's firing off random signatures in my sensors, even got the one for Ron's chip."_

"You didn't put one in me by accident, did you?" she asked with a sly smile.

_"Hah, using the same frequency would be a noob mistake... eh, right, well, I might lose contact if the interference keeps up. Try to be quick, if you don't contact us every hour or so they may assume you're dead. Malta's pushing for a heavy hit to stop whatever it is ASAP."_

She nodded and made a mental note to have her mother do a check for Wade chipping her when she got home. "Just tell them not to nuke the place, even if it's the Russians doing it. See you back in Middleton, Wade." She hung up as Wade provided her a map, uploaded to remain local with her until she dumped the data. The map showed her where a massive energy signature was, she had to make her way there. She walked towards the inner door, which was opened. The moment she passed it, an energy field shot up and defense rose on the other side, and on her side a pair of small obelisks a head shorter than her but on one-foot tall pedestals rose, red energy forming at the tip with a distinct hum. She drew her compact as it fired, the blast of energy hitting it and refracting back, overloading the crystal and causing it to explode. The second one powered up before Kim could turn, firing. She grunted as she took a direct hit, feeling suddenly tired as whatever hit her felt like it drained the life out of her, small bits of red energy floating away from her as she pulled the compact out as it powered up again, deflecting the blast back. She staggered forward, finding her strength again as she literally walked it off. _Great, some sort of necromancy or whatever,_ she thought, _hope it's not permanent._ She limped along the pathway. _Nice of them to cobble it for me,_ she decided as she found herself at an interior moat. She looked around when the bridge across it suddenly burst into flames and collapsed.

"Alright, that's cliché." She grabbed her grappling hook as she noticed that the defenses didn't strip the support beams crossing over the moat. The moat was suddenly chilled, wisps of frost coming from it. Experimentally, Kim kicked a pebble into the river. It froze into solid ice faster than Pop Pop Porter's cryovater flash froze miniaturized corn dogs. _I don't wanna know what it can do to me then,_ she decided. Kim turned as four men charged. One carried a sword, another one carried a spear, a third carried a mace, and the fourth a crossbow with an energy glow where the bolt would normally be. She shot the spearman's spear with the grappling hook, yanking it away with the powerful motor behind the grappling hook. Disarmed, he charged her regardless and swung a punch. Kim ducked under it and flipped him into the mace man, smashing the buckler he carried and knocking the two down. A flash of light shot over here as the crossbowman fired and the swordsman closed in. With a single swing he caught the edge of the snow suit, but Kim followed up with a pair of kicks to the back and knocked him over. She drew her compact as the crossbowman fired again, expertly deflecting the round back into him. An energy flash came up and absorbed the hit as the weak barrier protecting the crossbowman was expended. Kim closed the distance before he could reload.

XX

Ron parried the flail, the chain wrapping around the Lotus Blade before he changed the blade into a set of nun chucks and hit the man in the head. Collapsing, Ron pulled the transformed Lotus Blade clear and returned it to sword form as another spearman charged. Easily dodging the jab, he swung and severed the shaft of the spear and kicked the spearman in the chest. An energy crossbow bolt caught him in the shoulder, but his barrier ward caught it and the hit sent a pang of weariness through before adrenaline took over again as he used his rocket boots to jump up onto a stone gargoyle and he hit it in the neck, breaking it and bringing down the barrier to get into the interior of the base itself. "Booyah," He said as he leapt back down, another energy bolt speeding over. Two vulnari came out from the opening gate, wolves. Ron easily slashed the two down. "Come on, tougher guys!" he taunted as he turned the Lotus Blade into a boomerang and hurled it, hitting the crossbowman and knocking him off of his position into the moat. Ron crossed the bridge quickly as he caught the Lotus Blade and turned it into a shield as a fireball sped towards him. The shield took the hit and Ron returned it to a sword, a man in robes standing there. He didn't seem like an experienced mage.

"Best hit you have?" Ron asked.

"You will die!" he howled like a ham as he charged more magic, hurling an energy bolt at Ron. He side stepped it and charged, dodging the second blast but the third one, charged for maximum impact, hit him and cut the charge short. Grunting as he hit the ground, Ron rolled out of the way as the blasted aside ward drained him. Another energy blast hit where he had been before the roll and Ron leapt forward, closing the distance and tackling the young mage, losing his grip on the Lotus Blade as they rolled on the stone floor, punching each other. Ron pinned him down and started punching, pummeling his opponent into unconsciousness. Ron stood up as he nodded at his handiwork, calling the Lotus Blade back to him and moving on.

He came upon an energy barrier, frowning he looked around for something to bypass. "Well, I guess even classical needs vents," he commented as he saw a smaller passage that looked about the right size to be a vent. Ron changed the Lotus Blade into a ring again to store it while he crawled.

He jumped up and grabbed the edge, pulling himself in and crawled through beyond the energy barrier, dropping down and drawing the Lotus Blade again. A single red glowing obelisk was there, and Ron focused a moment to restore his barrier ward before dodging behind rubble for cover, the red burst hitting the rocks harmlessly. _Great, Obelisk of Light._ he thought sourly as he wondered when GJ would finally get an Ion Cannon to use on these kinds of places. He waited, listening to the firing sequence. The moment it fired, he leapt up and charged the Obelisk, closing the distance and slashing through it. He felt a ward repel the hit but channeled his own energy to force it through, severing the red crystal. He collapsed onto his knee, panting from the constant usage of magic. _I gotta pace myself,_ he thought. Smaller duels he'd been able to use his magic easily, but this was becoming a test of endurance as he pushed through the defenses. _These guys are definitely tougher, though, that might be it._

He spotted another opening for Rufus; "Rufus, another one." he said. The naked mole rat hopped out and got to work, scaling the wall easily and hopping inside. Ron saw the defenses in the next room; automatically firing fire jets. Those weren't something he fancied dodging; he wasn't Kim.

XX

Kim crossed the moat easily with her hairdryer grappling hook and swung over, landing at the inner gate. A single sonic mine was more than enough to break the door down and give her an entry. She looked up as a single man stood in a robe, scowling at her. She didn't know much, but based on how young he was she assumed he was a young trainee. He chanted, red energy forming and he pointed at her, smiling viciously.

Suddenly, the snow outfit she was wearing disintegrated and collapsed into nearly atomized dust, like the molecular bonds that held the outfit together were suddenly cut. It didn't affect anything else, not even her jetpack. She counted that as luck as she didn't fancy being caught in her skivvies in Siberia. She could make out disappointment in the young mage's face as she quickly closed the distance, hurling him into a wall with a judo throw. He grunted, looking at her, "You... you _hit_ me you lowborn peasant?" he gasped, gripping his leg like it was broken.

Kim didn't justify him with an answer, she just closed the distance again and punched him in the gut before kicking him between the legs for the extra insult, leaving him on the floor, whimpering and helpless. _Snobs like him aren't even worth knocking out,_ she thought as she looked at the next barrier. It was an energy barrier, and she smiled as she put a hand on it and felt the solidity of it. Pulling out a sapper burst grenade, she primed it and hurled it at the barrier. An explosion of white energy flashed, harmlessly passing by her while the barrier dissipated. Kim moved to the other side, setting a sonic mine on the door behind after she easily beat the squad of soldiers guarding the next room.

She walked through the passage, noting the holes. It struck her as too much of a trap...

XX

"Great work, Rufus!" Ron said as the flame jets shut down and he continued on.

XX

Suddenly, the flame jets began to spit out at random. Kim's reflexes and instincts took automatic hold, adrenaline pumping through her as she dodged the array of bursts. Horizontal, vertical, diagonal from multiple directions. It reminded her of the McHenry Laser Grid as she leapt through the last one and came out the other side. "That's it," she muttered between deep, heavy, rapid breaths, "I'm beating the snot out of whoever's setting these defenses off..."

The door opened with two figures standing in the center of the room, causing Kim to turn to face them. One was clad in robes, but didn't match the description GJ provided of the spellcaster who escaped. The other one was clad in full plate armor, face obscured by the visor. The spellcaster took a step forward, "So, you are Kimberly Possible."

"One and only, though just call me Kim." she answered with a sarcastic grin on her face to keep them hopefully off balance, "I'm collecting old books today. Any to donate?"

"Humor. Amusing," he scoffed, "But really, I thought you'd be more... impressive. You're dressed like a prostitute who gives her body to animals like the conscripts you've fought just for a single coin."

Kim rolled her eyes at the obvious and quite frankly pathetic insult, "Times change, why don't we just skip to the part where I foil this crazy plan and I go home? I have things to do, people to see."

He laughed, cold and hollow, "Why would we let you win? You don't have any powers, I could wipe you out in a moment. You can't touch either of us, we're warded against projectiles and I can ward myself from even melee attacks." To show, he chanted and rose just above the ground, a shield visible around him.

Kim rolled her eyes as she drew her EMS and shot the shield, the EMS impacting the barrier and shooting electricity through it. The bubble dropped and Kim sprang forward, kicking him in the gut and knocking him back. She assumed the melee barrier was extended first, and the ranged one was still functioning. "It's called technology. Really handy, huh?"

He scowled, orange energy gathering along his arms as the knight charged when the door behind them broke open, a young blond haired man with a katana charging and slashing the knight's back, causing him to turn and duel. Kim focused on the spellcaster, drawing and zapping him with the shock stick as she rolled clear of his fireball spell. His ward absorbed the blast of electricity. He charged a dark blue energy and sprayed ice towards her, chilling her as she rolled out of the way and activated the jetpack. She shot forward into him and crashed him into the wall, pinning him down. She hit him in the face, pain shooting up her arm despite the glove she wore. He howled and hit her in the chest. She staggered backwards and heard heavy plated steps. She barely had time to dive out of the way as the knight charged her, slashing and catching her chest with the slash, cutting a long slash across her stomach and sending a massive chill down her spine as the steel came away from her flesh.

The blond man, as if in response to the injury, suddenly accelerated into a blue burst and slammed into the knight, whose barrier came up to block some of the blow. Kim ignored the pain and joined the beating, grabbing the knight by his tabard and hurling him into the mage. Just as the knight was about to hit, the mage had managed to incant a teleportation spell and escaped. Kim panted as ice shot through her spine from the wound. She fell to her knee, someone grabbing her. She looked at the blond and smiled, "Hey Ron. Thought you were training."

"Kim, come on, when would I be late to a mission?"

"Well, there was that one time in Norway..."

"We promised _**never**_ to speak of that trip again!"

"It was just a buncha Viking wannabes, not sure what gets you so wound up."

"I get déjà vu every time I try to figure it out, Kim. So what brought you here?"

"Book called the _Liber Arcessere_, these guys took it from the Tri-City Museum. Know anything about this Conclave?"

Ron nodded, "Yeah, Sensei told me a bit. They're actually on our side, baring the well, mishaps. We're in a Magocracy lair, not a Conclave hold. They've been hiding magic from society since this Magocracy whatever was beaten."

"That's odd, guys dressed like this called themselves the Conclave according to Will Du's report."

"False flag, probably." Ron answered with a shrug, "Ah crap Kim, let me at that wound." He closed his eyes, laying a hand on it and concentrating. Kim felt a warm, tickling sensation as Ron gasped and collapsed backwards. She looked down; the wound stopped bleeding, but it wasn't patched up at all.

"You alright, Ron?" she asked as she pulled the miniature medical kit out, using the medical tape to keep a patch of gauze on the slash wound.

"Yeah... just tired. I've been using a lot of magic to get here. Guess all I could do was stop it from bleeding," He did look tired, like he'd been staying up playing video games all night. He held the Lotus Blade loosely.

"Nice to see the Lotus Blade at last," she commented, "Sensei thinks you're ready?"

"No," Ron answered, shaking his head, "But ..." he stopped, putting a hand on his head, "Alright, alright..." When Kim gave him a quizzical look he explained, "Sensei's in my head right now, says we need to get a move on."

"Right," she answered with a nod, "Before we go though..."

The two kissed, holding each other tightly for a moment that seemed to last eternity. She could just tell how much he missed her, and she didn't even need a moment to know how much she missed him. It _was_ hard to be far from someone she loved. She could feel the joy, even as the sweaty pair touched each other.

Then Rufus popped out of Ron's pocket, "Hey!" he squealed, ruining the moment as the two looked down at the naked mole rat angrily, then glanced at the only door.

"Know what's going on?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, some sort of summoning ritual to bring a lot of vulnari critters to Earth."

"What're those?"

"Think those ghost monkeys in old hairy feet's."

She nodded as she recalled the ghost monkeys. "Not a big threat to a competent fighter, but GJ will have its hands fuller than usual. Let's bust this." Kim pulled it open with a grunt as it was heavy and they entered. Kim went first, Ron followed as she dialed, "Wade, give me a tech scan."

_"I'll..."_ the rest was cut off by static, but the scan got through. They were near a major energy signature. It was in that room. They looked around the hallway that was reminiscent of a spherical lab flash; rectangular in the door they entered by, but it ended in a circle at the end with runes traced on the floor there. The wall was lined with a series of urns. She crept forward, closely examining the pattern on the floor. Hexagonal in shape with marks placed artistically onto the tiles. "Alright KP," Ron said, distracting her, "I'm not seeing anything that'd shoot a big energy signature."

"Might be tied to the ritual," Kim commented as she started to close in on the rune circle when she heard a colossally loud _crash_. Whirling around, she turned to see Ron had been fiddling with an urn and dropped it. He fell onto his back and dropped the Lotus Blade in surprise, Kim able to see the last bits of energy disappearing from the urn.

"Honest mistake!" Ron cried as Kim felt her hair stand on end, Ron pausing as well. She turned slowly, the rune circle glowing as a cylinder of blood red light rose from the center, coloring the runes as they seemed to activate. Rising from it was a human like figure. His chin was sharp and angular, like it had been chiseled by an artisan, but they were smooth around the edges. Glowing energy of an unknown color combusted around him, obscuring most of his body. She couldn't see any legs, but above his waist everything seemed to be there if obscured. He looked at them, then said something in an alien language she didn't understand.

"What's that?" Ron asked quietly as he crawled up next to Kim, "Some sorta space elf?"

"I have no idea..." Kim answered as she recalled Simms' briefing on known aliens. _One of them were... no way!_

He gestured to the urns, and Kim stood to her full height. "Uh, hello?" she took cautious steps towards it. Even without magic she could just feel the overwhelming and _intimidating_ power of the figure. It gazed deeply at her and she shivered, like something was peering deep into her very being. He nodded and gestured to the urns.

"You want us to break them?" Kim asked. "That... that releases you, doesn't it?"

The being nodded, saying something in its language. With one leap, Kim sprang towards and urn and smashed it, releasing more energy. The being materialized more as the runes began to fade slightly. Kim used the shock stick to send another urn off.

"Whoa, that a good idea KP?" Ron asked, holding the Lotus Blade as he watched the thing chant in its unknown language. "Sensei's giving me a pretty serious warning here about powerful magical beings."

"Enemy of our enemy," Kim answered as she felt something odd click in her mind, "Besides, if he's been captured we should free him. Maybe he can help us."

_"Indeed I can."_ came a booming voice, like the might of a hundred suns and thundered like lightning_._ Despite this however, the voice had a warm feel to it._ "You have shown a heroic nature, I can see that. I am partially released and can speak to you now through these bonds."_

"Eh, why'd you need the urns smashed to talk to us?" Ron asked.

_"You lack translators,"_ he said with a warm chuckle, his deep voice reverberating in the walls, _"So I needed enough of the bindings removed to allow me to use some basic magic to let us speak to each other properly."_

"So you understood us the whole time from this translator thing, but we needed to be enchanted or whatever to speak to you and understand?" Kim asked as she figured out what that click was.

_"Yes."_ he answered.

"Well, I'm Kim, Kim Possible. This is Ron Stoppable," she explained with a pair of gestures, "Who're we talking to?"

_"I am Archanus, a High Scion of the meriur."_ he answered. Ron raised an eyebrow.

"What's a meriur?" Ron asked, confused, "Even Sensei's stunned."

"Aliens, Ron." Kim answered, "They've been fighting the lorwardians across the galaxy, even fought Warmonga and Warhok on some moon."

Archanus looked at her, turning his head quizzically, "_It is interesting that you know of the Battle of Jingos. Indeed, we have fought there and I did do battle with the two lorwardians you speak of."_

"We kinda had a bunch of walkers dropped on us," Ron commented, "Pretty much sent everyone hiding."

Archanus exhaled tiredly, _"Keep destroying the urns while I explain, I'll need time to restore my power once they're gone. The Alliance knew of the hunt from an intercepted transmission, but we didn't have anyone to spare. The asura wrote it off as a lost cause and the Alliance focused efforts on another front. As we were about to set out to the planet Ymph, I was taken by the Magocracy's bindings and trapped here to fuel their defenses with my powers."_

"So what's a High Scion?" Ron asked with a frown as Kim kept knocking the urns over, "You look like some sorta archon or something."

_"The closest term in your culture or mythology would be djinni,"_ Archanus explained, _"Our powers are vastly envied by many wielders of magic."_

"So what, wishes or something?" Kim asked in amusement, quickly adding, "Kidding, don't worry." Archanus seemed to be amused by her comment.

"Whoa, Kim, Sensei's warning me about releasing him!" Ron said as Kim knocked another urn over, she paused and looked at him quizzically. "He says they're pretty proud creatures and tend not to look favorably on us humans for well... as he put it, 'sins of others'."

_"The abuse of our natural power and our personal sovereignty is a sin deeper than even treason. The first members of the human Conclave made that mistake, and paid dearly for it."_

"Alright, Conclave's officially nuts then," Kim commented, tensing in disgust as she realized what he meant, "No way any of you guys could father a naked ape like us."

_"It's been done before, but they believe you to have these powers?"_

"Tried to force them on me with some sorta catalyst. Some Dragon-kin guy ran it, if it helps."

Archanus shook his head, _"What they would do is simply open you up to the weave of magic truly. It would less give you powers, and you would more become an ascended being, similar to myself but most likely not as true. With all its benefits, and all its weaknesses if you survived. You'd likely retain your mortal coil, but you'd have much more magic running through it, to the point where it'd be impossible to hide from other magic users. The power of a High Scion can be passed onto those of another species and a meriur whose father was a High Scion is automatically of highborn power, but in other species the powers wane rapidly, by the third generation the trait has burned out and has faded from the bloodline. Oh, it leaves some residual and increases the chance of magical potential, but in the end it is not much."_

Kim nodded and smashed the last urn. It was an easy choice given what these Magocracy people were likely to try and use him for, "So basically I don't have any powers, even if I got one of you High guys as an ancestor?"

He nodded as the runes dissipated in a flash of light, further bursts like shackles exploding coming from his wrists, _"You are correct. Now I am free, allow me to gather my power so I might aid your efforts."_

"Hope you're sure about this, Kim," Ron said as he stared at Archanus suspiciously, "Sensei thinks this is going to backfire, really fast."

"You heard what these people use Archanus and his fellows for; I'm not leaving anyone to that fate."

The door burst open loudly, the knight at the head of a group of spearmen. "They've let the djinni out! Take them down before he can regain his powers!"

They charged, Kim and Ron engaging and working together to stop them from reaching their new alien ally. It became a bloodbath, Kim suffering a stab wound from a spear in the shoulder while Ron was slashed across the thighs by the knight. The two were bleeding out as Kim hurled a flash bang grenade down and closed her eyes. The blinding white light gave her a brief reprieve as she struggled on, but the two suffered wounds quickly as it became a slaughter fest of spear jabs too intense for them to avoid. Tunnel vision kicking in as she pulled away from several jabs that poked into her legs and shoulders, a slash cut across Kim's chest and a shield bash immediately followed, knocking her to the ground. Ron screamed and charged, only to be met by the Knight and knocked aside.

Suddenly there was a loud, earsplitting shout from Archanus, fire gathering at his feet. Cloaked in his white and gold energy, he released a fiery wave. It passed by all of them, the Magocracy soldiers shouting in horror as they collapsed. It also passed Kim and Ron. The last thing Kim felt before losing consciousness was a warm feeling, but what it was, the fire of war or her own blood spilling on the stones, she wasn't sure.

XXX

XXX

**End Chapter**

*** I suppose I could of cut the chapter off when Kim and Ron kissed, but I wanted to introduce Archanus and that was a better cut off. For a comparison, Archanus is basically a protoss archon except he's only one guy who ascended from most of his physical form rather than two guys merged into one unit. To speak in gamer-tongue, he's a 'toss Archon with some special abilities tossed on top. Hey, I foreshadowed it with Wade. Quote:**

"_Can't answer that, but he theorizes that if these things are real magically-based creatures, they probably lent themselves into human myth _somehow_. So angels might of just been space elves with jetpacks or genies were just protoss archons."_

*** High Scions are, yes, based on the Arabian folklore with genies and the like. It gets explained a bit more next chapter, but in a nutshell they're mortal, they just have some tricks to survive (in this case, do them in with conventional weaponry they're basically KO for 10 years till they reform and have a chance of permanently dying each time they dissipate). Much like the Masari in **_**Universe at War**_**, which were the inspiration for the meriur, High Scions got lent into myth and things went from there. Like in the myth, they're not necessarily good or evil, though the 'wishes' is a little more subjective given magical limitations. It's funny when you do research to check and find out you had the general sense right enough that the rest you can hand wave as the story getting twisted.**

*** Kim's EMS is her anti-barrier weapon, as are 'Sapper-burst' grenades. The EMS is obviously better against tech-based shielding like plasma shields, but it'll work on magical shielding in a pinch. The idea is that the EM pulses that come from an EMS shot are sufficient to disrupt shielding. Not as much of an issue for Kim given she's generally a melee combatant, though when someone does try a anti-melee ward it's handy. Of course, had she not busted the ward he'd of been channeling energy into keeping himself off the ground. It all balances out like that.**

*** The 'Order of Faith's Inquisition' is basically a 'renegade faction', or a small group of punching bags to help represent the societal and organizational fracturing that's going on in the aftermath of **_**Graduation**_**. They're just one of many punching bags for the heroes (and villains) to beat up, another group in the works will include Gill getting some cultists for a little Cthulhu abomination weirdness or a group of insurgents in some unspecified country causing a ruckus for GJ's peacekeeping support.**

*** Port Mystic Cove Haven... given I'm an AP US History student, I have to laugh a bit trying to figure out where to place it without hitting 'absurdity' in travel time (not that KP is really good with it, mind). Dates we know of the town is 1725 when they sunk Black-Eye Brown's vessel. Well, I'm taking heavy dosages of 'willing suspension of disbelief' pills and try not to think about it. I'm a sucker for details, but this is definitely one time I just let KP's nebulous concept of 'time' happen. The scramjet was really just me trying to keep **_**some**_** shred of believability to it. I hate coping out like that, but I either had to have Kim hype it back to the Tri-City area or send her somewhere else for a bit.**

*** Yes, the chapter name is a nudge to 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks', which was given a reference in the episode **_**Vir-Tu-Ron**_**. I dunno, I was running out of ideas.**

*** As usual, reviews are appreciated, especially constructive ones. I'm also looking for a beta-reader, if anyone is volunteering.**

**-=Document Recovery: Schools of Magic=-**

_Recovered from: Conclave Archives_

**Schools of Magic:**

_**Document Usage**__: _

_Introductionary Reading Material_

_**Document By**__:_

_Harold von Klingon__ of the __Swedish School of Basic Magical Arts_

_Greetings, student. This scroll is to bring you up to speed on the classifications of magic itself, rather than the classification of user. The knowledge below belongs traditionally to the so-called 'Western' school of thought in magic usage and is rarely taught by our brothers in the East. Study it well, there will be a test!_

_- Instructor von Klingon_

_Magic has been classified by Conclave scholars into the following schools: Evocation, Abjuration, Transmutation, Divination, Necromancy, Conjuration, and High Magic. _

_The first six are traditional paths in everyday usage and even specialized learning. High Magic is a powerful thing, magic typically unusable by a lone person. These classifications classify specific sets of abilities rather than actual focus of ability application. These schools of training are the core of magical understanding, each focusing on a different aspect of magic and laws governing its usage._

_Conjuration:__ Typically focused on moving matter from one place to another, conjurations most famous usages is summoning spells and teleportation. Summoning also provides some defensive changes, such as invisibility or summoning inanimate objects for usage as projectiles. Often combined with abjuration to prevent teleportation in secure areas or to block diviners efforts. Conjurers, especially summoners of the school, are often said to be arrogant to an extreme._

_The laws of conjuration are a key aspect to understanding how teleportation and, by extension, magical summoning works._

_Basic conjuration includes temporary vulnari summoning, the first tier of which you will be expected to be proficient with by the end of this course._

_Necromancy:__ One of the most misunderstood schools, necromancy is unable to properly animate the dead. While certainly when combined with transmutation it can temporarily animate an unliving corpse, it can be done for anything. Necromancers in actuality specialize in the art of manipulating negative energy, tending to drain or curse opponents rather than blast them. The art of necromancy is typically seen as morbid, many users of it focusing on mortuary arts._

_The laws of necromancy explain the usage of magic in relation to negative energy as well as it's relation to positive energy (laws shared with transmutation)._

_Basic necromancy includes the usage of negative energy to drain at target. In this case draining a chair of its integrity in a manner very similar to a dunking stool. You are expected to be proficient with this by the end of your training._

_Divination:__ Specializing in sight beyond sight, divination based magic tends to be involved in seeing, sensing, and arts of detection. While every magic user possesses some basic sight through typical divination training, those who specialize can see great distances. The most famous usage of divination based magic is spying through the art of scrying and foresight. The former is a key as it allows one to see events as they happen elsewhere in the world, while the latter is an imprecise but useful art and is the cause of prophecy. Diviners are sometimes said to be aloof._

_The laws of divination govern the usage of magical sight and how it is limited._

_Basic divination includes being able to see through basic magical cloaking from transmutative and abjurative magic as well as sensing magical presence and gauging its strength for counter-spelling. You will be expected to do this by the end of the course._

_Transmutation:__ The art of changing the nature of an object or person is known as transmutation. The most obvious usage of transmutation is in temporary augmentation spells to a wide array of effects from improving one's strength to charging an item in an effort to make it more effective at its purpose. Because it deals with changes of most things, it draws on positive energy more often than non-positive. Transmutation specialists are often said to be somewhat insane, much like the mad scientists and alchemists in the outside world, though many healers come from this school of specialization._

_The laws of transmutation govern how magic can be used to alter matter and the limits off it. Transmutation shares some laws with necromancy, in particular in regards to positive and negative energy._

_Like all magic, transmutation requires energy, but is famed for permanent changes requiring even more energy than most magic, bordering on the costs of high magic. Do not attempt permanent changes to anything unless instructed otherwise!_

_Basic transmutation includes healing and enhancing objects' strength. You will be expected to do this by the end of your course in the case of the latter, and in the case of the former it would be useful for your abjuration test if it goes poorly._

_Abjuration:__ This school is one half of a whole it shares with evocation. Abjuration is the art of using magical energy, positive or negative (or more commonly both together) to create defensive wards. These warding magics range from blocking oneself from hard to shielding an area from teleportation. The users of abjuration are said to be reclusive._

_The laws of abjuration govern the usage of magical energy defensively._

_The most common usage is wards. You will be expected to be able to create a ward capable of stopping a sack of 10 pounds of flour launched via short-range catapult by the end of this course. It would be wise to gain a good foothold of your transmutation magic if this goes poorly._

_Evocation:__ A popular school amongst magic users specializing in combat, evocation focuses on offensive usage of magical energy. With powers ranging from bolts of magical energy to using other schools to create an assortment of blasts, evocation is the most chaotic school of them all. The users are said to be erratic and eager to 'blow things up', but inner discipline is key to wielding the dangerous powers of offensively used magical energy._

_The laws of evocation govern offensive usage of magical energy._

_By the end of this course you are expected to be able to hurl bolts of magical energy with an accuracy of a 7 or greater on a standard archery target and with enough force to break a standard combat dummy. I expect this to be most enjoyable for some of you._

_The last school is known as "High Magic". Unlike the previous six, high magic has fewer laws, fewer restrictions. These magics can pull at the boundaries of reality, but require the most talented users of magic to wield. You are not expected to be even able to breach into this magic by the end of the course, but you are expected to understand the theory behind it. _

_Two parts of High Magic are revealed to all students, and I shall discuss them in brief here._

_Fury:__ The fury is something all magic users experience upon coming to magical maturity. During a fury, one can wield beyond the average limit of a human being and create even more powerful effects. The first time one enters a fury, their magical coming of age, is always 'free' so to speak, a chance to experience the highest ends of magical power. The circumstances allowing one to enter it are unknown to most, the few able to consciously gain this level of power hesitant to use it as after their first usage using a fury results in a comatose state for any time ranging from a day to a week, rare cases even leading to full months. The symptoms grow worse each usage of a fury. Furies are the ultimate incarnations of magical power, and those using it are dangerous foes. Should you face someone using a fury, you have two options: First is to run and hope you are out of magical reach. Second is to use dispelling and disjunction magics to weaken their connection with magic. Simple blows of steel also suffice as a fury automatically generates a ward that absorbs incoming attacks at cost of magical vitality of the enfuried user. Unlike most magical wards, this even prevents melee attacks._

_Fugue Bond:__ This is one of the lowest piece of high magic given the many rules upon it. A Fugue Bond allows one to retain life in a very weak form, but cannot be cast on oneself. The Fugue Bond drains the life of another magic user in order to sustain a fragment of another's life. This is __**dangerous magic**__ that should not be attempted by any novice or even graduated spell wielders. The bond drains, for every day, approximately one year of the life of the bonder and reduces their overall spellcasting powers during the maintenance of the bond. The bond may be shared between magic users to ease the burden, but care must be employed when casting this spell as it is a heavy sacrifice. There are many limits on it, such as what kind of wounds the body of the bonded may suffer before the bond is cut, but a good rule of thumb is that cremation will spell the end for the bonded's life regardless of the power in the bond, while other injuries within potential magical healing and repair are a greyer area in determination of this bond. Those in a Fugue Bond are restored by using healing magics to restore their senses and heal the wound. In the case of when nothing is actually wrong, such as suffocation, the healing magic simply acts as a restart. It is fragile, but powerful. Great heroes have been saved from death by this to do great deeds at a later date, and the existence of these bonds are why the Conclave use cremation to dispose of executed bodies._

_**Conclusion:**_

_This overview should give you a general idea of basic magic, student. I would advise keeping this with you and studying it repeatedly. The overview will be useful for pretests when we start on a specific topic or school._

**-=Document Ends=-**


	15. Chapter 15: Ancient Weapons? No match

_"And I thought Cthulhu was ugly, these guys are fuckin' _weird_."_

- Quipped by PBD Sergeant Jason "Paladin" Adams, immediately after a skirmish near Camp Gottagrin (formerly Camp Wannaweep) during which his shock squad engaged several mutants under the leadership of Gil "Gill" Moss during a futile effort to locate the renegade mutant.

_"When I really think about it, I think one reason Kim and I grew apart when dating was it could unintentionally get a bit aggressive with our different lifestyles. I liked the calm things, not much for contact. She's like a tiger... tigress, given she's well, a she. Sometimes moments after her missions could be a little more on contact than either of us were comfortable, just because of the combat mentality edging out. I don't think it was a mental issue of either of us, we just weren't compatible with how we rolled in life. We parted on very good terms: no arguments, no raised voices, and definitely no fight or I wouldn't be here, would I?"_ _[He chuckles here;] "Now, Ron on the other hand... well, he can handle it becoming a contact sport. From the hearsay I got from Tara who got it from Felix who got it from Ron himself, real tight bonding moments can be. And Ron loves every minute of it."_

- Josh Mankey in the June of 2011 to historian Armand Blade, when asked about his relationship with Kim Possible and how it came to an end.

XX

**Chapter 15: Ancient Weapons? No match.**

**2040 Hours Mountain Time**

**Global Justice Headquarters**

Doctor Director frowned as the sensor images came in from the lair. Explosions were recorded from the lair. The Russians had offered reinforcements in the form of a company under the command of one Major Vladimir Orlovsky, but she asked for them to stand by. They'd be there before the GJ support if they moved, and while the Russians had backed Global Justice in the past and generally respected them and their field of expertise in regards to metahuman affairs, she still didn't trust them. That was a habit from growing up in the Cold War to militant anti-communist parents. "What's that?" she asked as she pointed to a small blip speeding away.

"Unsure, ma'am, there's too much interference. It's a wonder we've gotten it at all."

General Malta came on the line while the Russian PBD General Lebedjev, speaking first. "_Doctor Director, General Lebedjev. Both of you have the readings?"_

_"Da,"_ the Russian PBD general said in his thick accent. Doctor Director placed him as probably being from Kiev or Moscow. _"A nearby company of soldiers is standing ready. The explosions are dying down, ve should move in soon."_

"We will. What about the North Koreans? Have they detected the explosions?"

_"Da, but we've told them it is a Russian matter and to stay out of our waters. Still, Major Orlovsky will be ready for any interference."_

Malta chimed in, _"I know the area's blowing up, but we should also try to track that object we detected flying away. If it isn't Possible, we may have something that can beat those two on our hands. I'm suggesting that we move in ASAP and secure what we can."_

XX

**Yamanouchi School**

Sensei sighed; for the last hour he'd tried to reestablish his contact with Ron, but something had blocked him. _I wonder,_ he thought as he rose. Yori looked at him concerned as he walked past into the school's library, trying to find information.

He sighed again, _Kim's eagerness to help someone in need must have spelled trickery._

XX

XX

XX

**1954 Hours (Mountain Time)**

**Magocracy Lair**

Kim groaned as she came back to her senses, laying a hand on the wound she'd taken. She was surprised when she didn't feel anything there, on her chest. No blood, none of her own intestines spilling out, just smooth skin, soft as a baby's. Opening her eyes, she looked around. Ron was groaning on the ground, and there was a large pile of people on the side. She could make out Archanus standing, or rather, floating over her as she looked up. He offered a rippling hand and she grabbed; it was hot to the touch, but her gloves shielded her enough from it she could take the heat until he pulled her to her feet. It didn't stop her from blowing on them to cool them down after. She looked down at the slash wound again, or where it was. The skin was fully restored, like the wound had never happened. "Wha..."

"_My powers, due to my alignment with the positive energy of the universe, can stun. Because you were unshielded and young Stoppable's barrier had failed earlier, you two were caught in it."_ the High Scion explained as he moved over to help Ron to his feet. _"I used my magic to heal your wounds. Thank you, thank you for helping me."_

"No big," Kim answered. "How long were we out?"

_"Several minutes, your wounds would have been fatal."_

Kim nodded as Ron grabbed the Lotus Blade and checked Rufus. The naked mole rat was sleeping as Ron pulled him out. She knew her amazement at the things Rufus could sleep through as she checked her equipment, finding everything intact. She tried calling Wade, but the signal couldn't get through, but the Kimmunicator still had other functions. "Great," she said, "I can't get a signal to Wade. Ron, Sensei still in your head?"

"No," Ron said as he rubbed his chin, "After that blast I think something happened. I can feel a pulse, though."

_"That will be the ritual they were attempting."_ Archanus said, _"They bound me to fuel their defenses. With my release, we'll only have to face their conscripts."_

"Wait, those guys are conscripts?" Kim said as she looked at the pile, a pit forming in her stomach. Pity. Pity for men and women dragged from their homes to be put through the meat grinder that was battle.

_"Yes. The Magocracy drafts those without powers as a labor caste; slavery. Those with magic are able to find their own way into society."_ Archanus explained sadly, _"The conscripts are given a minor magical augmentation to force suicide to prevent capture that automatically triggers if they're knocked out or can be activated by a magic user for the same purpose. Magic users must consciously activate it, but it can fire off unintentionally."_

"I'll find whoever came up with that idea and throw him out a window," Kim angrily stated as she gripped her hands into a fist, "Come on, we have some snobs to beat up."

Ron nodded and they went back into the room before, a small glowing circle visible at the other side. Archanus floated over and put a stream of energy towards it, nodding. "_This teleport circle is much shorter ranged, but once powered we can warp over to the main building, where the primary outbound teleport circle and the ritual will likely be. We have a few minutes; you have questions?"_

"Yeah... what are you?" Kim asked, "I mean, we caught a bit of what you meriur are from what GJ salvaged, but I don't know much."

_"To explain who we are would take too long and you'll have other questions. However, I am a meriur High Scion. Unlike many of my brethren, my connection to the energies of exisance is much more open. I have given up much of my physical form to, in layman's terms, ascend. I am much like my Scion brethren in spellcasting techniques, but magnified tenfold."_ he explained, _"Not all of us can use magic in spell form, but the key to our species is twofold; some are attuned, others can attune. The attuned are high born, gifted with natural magical powers and form the higher echelons of our society. Those who can attune are low born and much more common, but they can attune to one of higher birth to gain the advantages of positive or negative energy attunement, albeit in different ways and in the case of most without spellcasting."_

"Uh, right," Kim said, most of the explanation going over her head. "So you can basically empower yourselves as good or bad?"

_"Positive and Negative energy are a foundation, they are neither good nor evil. Many great heroes have attunement with negative energy, and many villains have attunement to positive energy. Do not let looks fool you, even those with the seemingly most dark powers can be good people."_

"So how'd we get to calling you guys genies in the old days?" Ron asked as he looked around, "You'd figure space elves like you guys would stick around."

_"We contributed to your mythology in our acts during the Magocracy War. We were a third party in it, though at the time we only knew both sides were binding other High Scions. We sent forces to stop both sides, but it was... difficult to avoid collateral."_

"Hang on, why bind a big guy like you?" Kim asked with a frown, "Seems like it's more trouble than it's worth. Those negative whatever obelisks didn't hit hard."

_"Because they tried to use positive instead of negative energy to fuel them."_ Archanus interjected. _"I powered the other defenses, such as the four point obelisks at the corners of this lair."_

"Right, well... why just bind big guys? Wouldn't an army of you be better? Those golden walkers you have... whaddya call 'em, cuirassiers, would've ripped apart any retro army."

He raised an eyebrow, as if having difficulty translating the lingo before nodding, _"Because most meriur, even our most powerful Scions, are not vulnerable to this. High Scions have become so attuned to magic that we are vulnerable to more magical attacks, such as summoning and binding. High Scions are bound for their powers; a few of us used the lure of three wishes and similar to attract rescue when left in forgotten places, which is likely how stories came to stay."_

"Lotta 'em were probably lost too," Ron added, "Sensei mentioned the Conclave destroyed a lot of history way back when to hide magic best they could. Leave it a superstition, you know?"

"Sure explains gaps in history," Kim commented, "So, Archanus, any chance you guys are going to smack the Magocracy around again?"

_"It's unlikely we'll send a full force, but I will not forget the struggle here or the aid you offered. If most of the Conclave has yet to learn, it will be necessary to stamp out whatever lingering ignorant beliefs they have of us, whatever justifications of binding they have left."_

"So what do your regulars look like?" Kim asked, "The non-High Scion guys."

_"Much like you humans. I suspect some powerful mage in history decided to lose the hair in his awe of us and the trait passed down,"_ he paused as he noticed the scowls on their faces, _"Though it is most likely coincidence and pride is speaking there. The lorwardians could be said to simply be ten foot tall and green versions of either species. Destiny seems to be funny, that way."_

"Right..." she answered slowly, "How long that thing going to take charging?"

_"Another minute or so. Any other questions?"_

"Yeah, I got one." Ron said, "How they heck they use you guys to start an Operation Jugger-tot?"

Kim almost burst into laughter because of all the questions Ron could ask, he chose _that_ one. The noise that wound up coming out of her mouth sounded have way between choking and a snort as she stopped herself from laughing. Archanus raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side like he was wondering what was in these naked apes and their questions.

"_Our... physiology is different than most species. Particularly in that subject. It draws more on... natural powers is the furthest I'll go with it."_

"My mom's a doctor," Kim commented in amusement, "Better question. You mentioned an 'Alliance', right?"

_"Yes."_

"If you knew about Warhok's walkers coming, why didn't you like, warn us or something? Even if you couldn't spare a military group, the warning might of helped." Kim could feel anger as she remembered the charred bodies that had been partially disintegrated by the beams when she was helping look for survivors the day after. "It might of spared lives, heck, we might of been able to _stop_ the walkers before they hit."

_"The Law of Non-Intervention. It is difficult to explain, but I suspect the closest comparison would be a Prime Directive. To not interfere with another species until it is ready to take its place unless absolutely necessary. Earth has been watched for some time."_

"Wait, you guys said you fought in the..." Ron interjected only to be cut off.

_"That was before the law was created. Sending troops to Earth is something else now, even a message. You weren't ready to take a place in the stars as you had yet to make it there on your own."_

"Weren't ready, huh?" Kim asked, letting the disbelief and anger dominate her tone, "Weren't ready to get blown apart? Weren't ready to have our homes destroyed? Weren't ready to be introduced to the galaxy at large with an _**invasion of our planet**_? If the situation was reversed, would you have wanted us to simply say 'Nope, overarching directive of non-interference, sorry we can't help you against interference'."

Archanus growled, _"How do you think your people would react to a message sent by an unknown alien? It'd be dismissed as a joke, wouldn't it?"_

"To the masses, maybe," Kim admitted, "They can disbelieve a lot of things. But to those who watch, those who know the dangers that're out there... that warning could of given them time to _do_ something. Give them time to mobilize something. We might of been able to hit them. Sure, they hit us with some sort of EMP to bust power, but we still had enough communications for armed forces to engage and organize." She was about ready to punch him in the face... or something, she had a hard time making out specific body parts in the mass of energy enveloping Archanus, who seemed to pause as he considered what she was saying. "That intervention law of yours is out the window when someone else interferes. Isn't it your _responsibility_ to stop those who are breaking it? Fine, you couldn't send troops, but if you aliens have been watching us, you _know_ what we can do. You know that the moment that an alien ship touched down in wreckage on Earth, when we salvage the remains, you _**know**_ that we're coming soon. It may not be today, may not be next week, but humans are coming, and you'll have to meet with us, deal with us, talk with us. And if we ever found that out... well, that'd get relationships off to a great start, wouldn't it?"

_"You speak with anger backed by a righteous spirit,"_ Archanus said as she finished, _"Perhaps you are right, but history cannot be changed. We can only change what we experience through strength of will and action."_ The teleport circle glowed, _"Come, it's time to end this. Allow me to draw their initial burst, my wards are powerful. Once the initial burst has come, focus on their ranged support that can disrupt spell wielding, I will rain down the full fury of my people."_

"Won't you hit us?"

_"I'll ward you against my own attacks, but I can't ward you against others at this time."_

"No problem," Kim said as she pulled her gloves tight, "Ron, you up for tanking?"

"Gotcha covered, KP. Should join us next..."

"Ron, no, for the last time, no." A column of light erupted from the circle, and Archanus entered. A moment later, Kim followed with Ron coming in right behind her. Her senses tumbled as she was shot through the teleportation, her mind numbed by the sensations until she came out the other side. Wade's map told her that she was now in the actual central building, though what she came into was a large room of stone, torches hanging on the walls and giving the place a dark blue lighting. The long hallway looked like a mess hall of sorts with long tables and benches, mostly cleared at the moment. The walls had small indented arches, some wooden doors, others just stone. A large number of conscripts with assorted weapons, mostly melee, had already charged Archanus only to be blown aside by several fireballs. Tables splintered into burning scraps of wood as Archanus blew them across the room.

Kim did note that it took him a few moments to charge his attacks, however. She looked up and fired her grappling hook into a support beam on the ceiling, swinging across as energy crossbow bolts shot past and landed next to a group of crossbowmen who had knocked over a table to turn into a bunker. She grabbed the nearest one and hurled him into the two that hadn't turned at her and were trying to hit Ron, who was charging up with the Lotus Blade transformed into a shield. The blasts hit the shield but didn't punch through as Kim finished off the group in the makeshift bunker.

Leaping out and joining Ron, the two entered a fur ball with a trio of swordsmen. Ron switched the Lotus Blade back into a katana and parried the first swing of one of the swordsmen while Kim disarmed and grabbed another's blade before kicking that swordsman away. Easily parrying her new opponent's blow with the stolen sword she saw she had a perfect opening for a kneecap strike, but held back. She wasn't a killer. Instead she let him take a second swing and parried it to force an opening for her to hit her opponent with the pommel of the sword and knock him out. Ron had a similar idea, except he broke his opponent's sword before punching him in the face. "Ow ow OW!" Ron shouted and held his hand in pain, dropping the Lotus Blade as his hand hurt from punching (crappy) metal armor. Kim sighed as a man charged in with a flail and used the sword she stole to block the spiked ball at the end of its chain before legsweeping her target and disarming him, throwing the flail into a nearby torch bracket where it stuck.

Ron picked the Lotus Blade back up as another soldier charged with a spear. Ron switched the Lotus Blade into a quarterstaff and met the blows before Kim moved over to hit the spearman from behind and hurl him into the wall. She glanced towards Archanus, who had some sort of energy barrier flashing up repeatedly as energy crossbow bolts blasted at him. _Damn, if these energy rounds are anything like a standard GJA hit we're in deep,_ she thought as she considered how tough a High Scion would have to be to take the dozen bolts every thirty seconds. _Then again,_ she added as she dropped the sword and hand sprung over another table knocked over as a barricade to get into another group of crossbowmen who were setting up to open fire on the High Scion, _GJA's have a much better rate of fire._ As she landed she knocked a crossbowman to the floor before turning to disarm another and hurl him into a third. Ron leapt into the barricade and helped her knock out the group as Archanus blasted another squad of melee soldiers out of the way.

_"We're almost to the other end!"_ Archanus called as he stopped, channeling more power into a concentrated burst towards the large double doorway at the end of the hall, which was shielded. Kim and Ron, having finished their handiwork in the makeshift bunker, hurried towards the last group and leapt inside. Beating through the group easily since they weren't very good at melee combat while the two teens were, they were like twin avatars of death and pain to the poor fighters. The two got out of the way as Archanus finished charging the blast after the thirty seconds of charging and blasted the door wide open. The three moved through it, finding themselves in what looked like a dungeon cell block. Archanus turned as he saw one of the cells, "_Someone is in here."_ he said, _"It is warded."_

Kim turned, looking at it and pulling her EMS out, shooting it. An electrical wave shot over, "Ward gone?"

_"Yes. Impressive technology."_ Archanus commented before putting his hands on the bars, channeling some form of fire magic. Ron stood on watch for more enemies as Archanus steadily melted the tight bars apart. When he finished, a roughly man sized hole had been opened and Archanus moved back, a human figure clad in stylized armor walking out. The armor flowed along his body like a tight fitting glove and was of a silver colored material, the gauntlets having small sockets that looked like they were for some form of jewel. The inside of the elbow area was open, but everything else was flexibly armored. He put a fist to his breast and bowed his head to Archanus. He glanced to Kim and Ron.

"Who are these two, High Scion?" he asked in a surprisingly calm tone. _Fricken Ice Cube, isn't he?_ Kim thought as the two meriur started to talk. She noted the mortal(?) one seemed to speak with an unusual accent; closest thing she could describe it as an American born and raised actor playing a technically Middle Eastern character and put a very good spin on his voice to make a unique accent.

_"This is Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable,"_ he gestured to the two respectively, _"They are humans, but they are allies and fight the same enemies as us. They are of heroic spirit."_

He nodded and turned to them, inclining his head briefly. "Well met."

"Hi," Kim answered, "So, who're you?"

"My name is Odessus, of low birth. I am an arquebusier in the service of Provost Khalis. We were sent here to find the High Scion but were captured upon warp in by a talented Magocracy wielder of magic."

"Any others captured?" Kim asked.

"Yes, two more of my men are being held in the cells."

"You hurt?" Ron chimed in, "We can handle the fighting."

"I can engage in battle. High Scion, shall I attune to you?"

_"Yes, attune to my energy."_

He nodded, closing his eyes briefly as white energy briefly sped down his arms in a vein-like manner. Suddenly, a form of golden plasma glowed in his gauntlets' sockets. The plasma suddenly materialized into a shield on his left arm and a wrist mounted plasma punch blade in the other. "I am ready." he stated calmly. Kim shook her head.

"Is it really necessary to slice them open? Can't we just knock them out?"

"This is a war, friend," Odessus answered, "Blood will be shed."

"What, don't have a concept of prisoners?" Ron asked as he narrowed his eyes.

"Against these enemies, no, for they will not surrender and capture will only see their deaths by the augmentations grafted into them. Come, we have little time."

Kim sighed. _Well, these guys are soldiers, suppose I shouldn't be surprised._ She reassured herself that he was a soldier; if he chose to put blood on his hands in the heat of battle, she didn't have a say, but if it wasn't battle she wouldn't let him just mercilessly kill someone. They moved on, all the cells empty. "This isn't good," Ron commented, "Any reason they'd want your guys?"

"Interrogation, probably," Kim answered, "Archanus, sense anything useful? Maybe some magic revelation?"

_"I can sense two meriur nearby... the outbound teleport circle!"_

Kim drew her shock stick and nodded, "Let's move."

The group moved forward, "Allow me or your friend to go first, madam," Odessus said as they came around a corner when Archanus sensed a group of hostiles around it.

"No need to shelter me," Kim answered, wondering if he was just being a chivalrous foot soldier as she pushed pass, "I can take care of myself." As she came around a corner, she immediately leapt clear as an energy crossbow bolt shot by. Kim fired the shock stick in the direction of the five hostiles in the narrow corridor. They were all carrying spears save for the one with the crossbow. The shock burst caught one of the spearmen and he collapsed to a knee and dropped his spear, gasping for dear life, while the other three moved forward. Archanus came around and channeled his magic, shooting six bolts of magical energy, two for each spearman, knocking them back as their warded armor absorbed the first hit but didn't activate against the second.

Kim leapt over with Ron right behind her, Kim tackling the crossbowman and Ron knocking out the recovering spearman with a quick punch. Kim looked up as a swordsman came up, Odessus charging in to meet him with plasma shield and energy blade. He easily blocked the first swing from his opponent using the shield before following up with a stab that was caught by the shield, though the shield had a considerable dent in it as Odessus wielded his energy blade like he was just punching someone. The follow up punch caught the enemy soldier in the chest, and Odessus pulled out to allow his opponent to drop to the floor with a burned hole in his chest before nodding.

"Awesome sword," Ron commented, "Like a lightsaber!"

They took a left at a small door, noise audible inside as someone was shouting. Kim nodded to Ron and the blond walked up to the door and charged his magic before hitting it. The strike rebounded against the ward on the door before it fell off of its hinges. "Hello there." Ron said as Kim leapt inside, tackling a Magocracy knight in full plate before he could draw his sword while Ron charged another one. Odessus moved in quickly while Archanus simply channeled magic as a third enemy, a spellcaster, was lifted into the air before he could bring his magic to bear and hurled against the wall, collapsing.

The knight Kim tackled rolled around and put himself on top of her, crushing her under his weight. Kim struck his head with her own, dazing him and she shoved him off, Odessus impaling him in the head with the energy blade. The two looked at each other for a meaningful moment before Ron came flying over their heads and hit the wall. "Help..." Ron wheezed as he slid off the wall. Kim whirled around as the knight charged her with a broadsword, but a quick sidestep let Kim avoid losing her head and she kicked him in the back, knocking him into the wall next to Ron and the blade clattered out of his hands. Kim and Odessus moved in simultaneously, but Kim got in for a nerve strike first. The knight collapsed to the ground, unconscious while Odessus poised his blade.

"Don't," Kim said, "He's out of the fight. If he's one of those magic using knights, he'll live. We can interrogate him later, the nerve strike should keep him down for a while."

Odessus shook his head and moved to strike, but Kim was already close and grabbed his arm, pulling and flipping him over her head and into the ground. Surprisingly, his gauntlet came off. Kim looked at it before changing the orientation. _Funny, I could probably use something like this,_ she thought, _long as it had a stun setting, of course._ She looked down at Odessus, then Archanus and the other two captured meriur that were being released, a surprisingly large male specimen and a female. The two nodded to Archanus and attuned to his energy, the woman getting a set of plasma gear much like Odessus' while the male had two large blades form from his wrist gauntlets. Kim looked down at Odessus and dropped his gauntlet next to him before turning to the two.

"Unusual," the male one said, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but these humans send fertile females into battle. Why is it that only the Magocracy and ourselves avoid this foolishness?"

Kim felt her cheeks heat up and turn red, "What, you meriur a bunch of chauvinist pricks who say women should stay in the kitchen?"

"Peace," the heavy-set (in muscle) soldier answered, "I do not mean for you to be limited in such a way, but you have the ability to mother, why risk yourself in the field?"

"Well," Ron chimed in rubbing his head, "I can be a daddy too. Don't technically need to stick around to make it work once the deed's done, but I would. How's that for logic?"

_"Enough,"_ Archanus chimed in to cut them off, _"Humanity may be suffering, but their culture is vastly different than ours. Are you two alright?"_

"Yes," the female arquebusier said, "We are fine. The teleportation circle is in the next room, they were trying to interrogate us and were preparing to take us to their home 'plane', as they called it."

_"So the Magocracy has yet to discover space travel on their own... good, that could be an advantage to the terrans in this conflict."_ Archanus nodded, _"How guarded is the outbound teleport circle?"_

"Two heavy construct turrets protected from melee attacks." the large male answered as his energy blades transformed into dual bazookas of some kind, one on each arm. The two arquebusiers did the same, except only had one bazooka and their shields.

"What's with the bazooka-things?" Ron asked.

"Energy reflex cannons, the other weapon we are armed with being the energy reflex punch blade." Odessus explained, "We store several configurations in our energy matrixes," he turned so they could easily see two shoulder blade located sockets of similar color on his back, one covered by the back end of the energy reflex cannon he wielded.

"Cool," Ron said with a wide smile, "It's like a Green Lantern ring!"

The four meriur looked at each other, not catching the reference before Archanus brought them back on topic, "_What kind of shielding?"_

"Likely some basic barrier wards, but they will be insufficient against a tericos' energy blasts." the large one, whom Kim assumed was a 'tericos', answered. _I'm kinda hoping this is just translation of the actual titles,_ she thought as they moved out, _because the coincidence would just be too huge._

They took positions by the door and Kim drew the EMS, "I'll zap their wards... Archanus, you going to shield these guys?"

_"Of course."_

Kim nodded, "Ron and I will cover your backs then."

"Wait," said Odessus, "Let Stoppable take the shot." He got a glare in return and he shut up as Kim moved through the open door and took the shot, the EMS round speeding towards the barrier and causing it to fritz out, presumably. She didn't get a chance to see if it was gone or not as she finished diving clear as Archanus created an energy shield in the doorway to block the first energy bolt projectiles as the other three moved in, firing their energy reflex cannons, each cannon firing in a burst of three shots before they pulled something as if to reload and waited a second before opening fire again.

"Dang, those're golems!" Ron commented as they noticed the runes on the turrets.

"You probably know plenty;" Kim retorted, thinking of her pre-college studies for world history, including which was myth and legend.

"Yeah, real common in RPG's," he commented, "Oh, you meant Jewish lore."

Kim smirked as the blasts sailed into the construct turrets, hitting the last remnants of their shielding. It took multiple volleys to destroy them properly. Archanus dropped the shield and made an unusual movement backwards. _Is he tired?_ Kim wondered as she and Ron walked into the room.

"You alright dude?" Ron asked, "You're tired, could feel it from where I was standing."

Archanus nodded, _"Blocking blasts over an area can be difficult, but I have enough power for this."_ He moved up to the teleport circle and an unusual control panel of crystals. Kim held a hand for Archanus to stop and scanned it quickly with the Kimmunicator before moving over to the remains of the turrets and doing the same. As she came back, Archanus continued, _"Ah, good. This circle is not a proper warp gate, but we can use it to connect to the network and return to Talematros."_

"Talematros?" Kim asked with a frown, "Your home world?"

Archanus nodded, _"We must return and report. We will not forget our debt to you, and will return when the time comes."_

"Hang on, we still have that ritual to destroy." she pointed out, "Don't tell me your bailing on us."

_"If you destroy the ritual, you will disrupt the currents of this place's energy. We have to leave before you destroy the ritual."_

"And how do we do that?" Kim asked.

To her surprise, it was Ron who answered; "Just make a lotta noise and start kicking butt, should do the trick." He paused as everyone looked at him, "What? Works like a charm and probably looks awesome if anyone's taping. Break the concentration, magic probably goes haywire."

_"That..."_ Archanus said slowly, mulling it over, _"That is actually a wise tactic. Destroy any guards and devices as loudly as you can. He will likely have created multiple shields to prevent you from attacking him directly, so make sure you focus on any allies he has first and aim to shatter his concentration. The ritual is just down the hall, and I can sense at least two spellcasters present."_

Kim nodded, "So not the drama." The soldiers glanced at each other, their weapons phasing back into their raw plasma form and returning to the gauntlets as Archanus activated the teleport circle and entered, the circle powering up. Kim suddenly realized something; "Wait a moment."

_"What is the matter?"_ Archanus asked, holding a hand towards the teleport controls and stopping the power up.

"Translators; we won't necessarily meet a magic user when it comes to you guys or your allies. How're we supposed to communicate?"

Archanus gestured to one of the crystals, "_Pass one of the unused crystals here,"_

Ron tossed it over and Archanus caught it, focusing on it until it glowed a dull white, then he floated it towards Kim. _"I've placed on it the ability to allow you to understand language, but do not use it overmuch; I cannot guarantee it will last forever if constantly used."_

"Could Wade like, copy the data from it and put it onto a chip or something?" Ron asked.

_"If he is capable of reverse study magical imprints, there is a possibility. But keep this crystal safe, if you meet an Alliance member it will translate for you. It even has languages of non-Alliance species."_

Kim nodded as she slipped it into her pocket and made sure it was secure, "Thank you."

Archanus nodded and Ron reactivated the teleportation. In a flash of light, they teleported away, leaving Kim to sigh. "Shame they couldn't stick around. Bet Simms would love a chat with a few of them."

"Meh, Simms would probably lock them up or something."

"Good point. Shame they're chauvinistic though. You'd figure they'd of passed that stage."

"Seem like space elves, probably a population issue rather than cultural, though assuming the chick one we rescued can't have kids, well, seems to be limited."

Kim snorted, "Come on, let's end this."

XX

**French Military Firebase Whisky-Tango-Foxtrot**

**Six Kilometers Southeast of Lorraine, France**

"How you holding up, Corporal Robespierre?"

"Fine, sir," the French corporal said as he put a hand on his head, "Just disoriented from the radiation."

The sergeant nodded, "The rest of the squad's sick from it. Sounds like I missed something."

"Wasn't much sir, it was just a few zealots. How bad are the others?"

"The doctors say they'll be out for a few weeks while they're flushing the effects of the radiation out, but you're oddly clear to go once you're ready."

That surprised him; "Me, sir? Cleared to return to duty?"

"Yes, you seem to have adapted to the radiation well. The doctors said that they will discharge you in a couple minutes."

Robespierre nodded, "Yes sir."

When they were in the range, he loaded his FAMAS and took aim before opening fire, something itching in his palm. He didn't know why, but when he let go of the rifle and placed it back on the rack, the itch left.

The next day, it came again, but this time he felt something odd between him and the FAMAS he used. When he fired, the bullets were enveloped in some sort of energy envelope as they sped down, leaving small burns from the target.

"Whoa!" shouted one of the sergeants, "What was that?"

"I'm... not sure." he said with a frown as he looked down at the rifle again.

XX

**Magocracy Lair**

Ron watched as Kim set the sonic charge on the door before stepping back. He counted down silently as the charge counted to zero before detonating, the sonic wave demolishing the door to a fine dust. Inside the room across a small bridge to the central platform were large beams of energy, blood red with a black coating, coming from five support pylons into the middle where a spellcaster was, the energy swirling around him like a shield. He was floating just above a pedestal with spikes arching out towards the five pylons, which were connected there. Standing at the base of it was the mage that had evaded them earlier and half a dozen conscripts. Kim assumed they took out the base's contingent of knights already as she couldn't see any. The mage snarled at them, "You're too late. You can't stop the ritual. The Magocracy will ascend once again!"

"Puh-leeze," Kim said with as much exaggeration as she could from the door, "I foil this kind of thing on a daily basis. You really going to try and make me break a sweat?"

"You're dead, you don't even know it."

Ron answered this time, jokingly, "Well someone hurry up with the rez, then. I wanna gank the mage." _Larry's going to be so jealous; I'm actually _living_ a scene right out of our LARP!_

"Stand back a minute, Ron," Kim said before unpinning a sapper-burst grenade and hurling it into the ground at the mage's feet. The grenade exploded into a flash of white light, causing the mage to collapse onto his knee and the barriers to fizzle out. She smiled, "Let's rock!"

They sprinted in, the mage stumbling up as they did so. Ron went for the spearmen as Kim hit the mage. The first spearman struck, but Ron sidestepped the blow and severed the spearhead before hitting the spearman with the pommel of the Lotus Blade. He looked around, noticing the pylons were vulnerable, but also he could see the _Liber Arcessere_. "Rufus!" he said, nodded to the naked mole rat before turning his attention back to the fight.

Kim had hit the mage hard and hurled him into the other spearmen, knocking the group away. Ron blocked the last two spearmen as they tried to attack and leg swept them, knocking them to the floor. Glancing over he shouted: "Kim, we gotta take those pylons out!"

She nodded, "I'll cover you!" With that, she leapt at the spearman getting back up and kicked him across the face, knocking him back again. Ron charged to the nearest pylon and started smashing against it with the Lotus Blade. The magical sword hit and skidded along the shielding, but Ron kept hitting, the fight behind him a blur. The blows skidded off just to the side and along, draining him as he put some of his own energy behind the Lotus Blade's already potent power, but after several more hits Ron managed to break through and he sever the pylon in half. The resulting energy spike shot by and knocked him back, blinding him. He could hear a howl of pain, though he didn't recognize the voice. _Hope it's the guy makin' this ritual,_ he thought as he stumbled up, Lotus Blade still in hand and he moved onto the next pylon as his vision cleared.

Kim had disposed of the guards and had primed a sonic mine, hurling it into one of the pylons. It stuck to the shield and detonated, breaking a visible hole in the shield in a sonic wave. Kim followed up with a second mine, detonating the pylon and sending a second energy burst through the mage enacting the ritual.

An ear splitting howl came, and several vulnari came out. "Kim!" Ron shouted as a vulnari wolf pounced her from behind. Kim rolled onto her back as it did and punching it in the face, then again, and again. It dissipated. Ron brought the Lotus Blade down on a wolverine as it attacked him, several hits taking it down. _Least it's not as tough as Wolverine, I'd be screwed!_ Ron thought quickly as he tried to wail on the next pylon, but he consistently had to turn and defend himself before he could do any more than a slight amount of damage to the energy barrier. "Kim!" Ron shouted, "Need some cover!"

He turned his attention back to the pylon as another vulnari howled out of existence from Kim's blows as she came down. Ron panted as he kept striking the shielding, the blows tiring him. He cut through at last and severed the pylon. He didn't even think to reach for magic anymore; he knew he was too tired to use it. Three pylons down, two to go. He limped towards the next one, each step a pain as the kickback from his magic usage took its toll. He swung, hitting the barrier as hard as he could, the barrier wards on it deflecting the Lotus Blade for a few blows before he got through, but he collapsed before he could sever it in half, dropping the sword.

"Ron!" Kim shouted as she leapt back to him, hurling a sonic mine onto the pylon and pulling him away, grabbing the Lotus Blade and deftly impaling one of the vulnari that tried to pounce. Ron grunted, trying to speak, but the magic had taken its toll. The sonic mine detonated, leaving only one pylon left. Ron noticed Kim only had one sonic mine left on her belt.

"The Lotus Blade..." Ron whispered.

"I got it, Ron," Kim answered as she turned and let Ron go, easily taking down another vulnari. Kim was sporting several new slashes from her brawl with the vulnari, but she was still fighting. "I'm going to blast this place with a sapper hit," she said as she unpinned the grenade, "Sorry, but it's the only way."

Ron nodded, bracing for the pain of power denial as Kim hurled the grenade onto the floor and an explosion of white light engulfed the room as far as he could tell. Immediately every blood cell rebelled against the presence, he felt as if electricity shot through him all at once before cutting. He was already on the ground, but this made him curl into a fetal position in pain. He heard howls from the vulnari as they dissipated in the sapper bursts, but it was drowned out by a buzzing in his mind that left him stunned, dazed, disoriented.

XX

Kim hurled the last sonic mine onto the last pylon as its barrier was sapped away and the mine detonated in a wave of sonic energy, demolishing the pylon. She hurried to Ron, grabbing him as she knelt next to him and helping him to a seated position. She heard another howl, long and outraged and looked up. The figure that was commencing the ritual had power rippling out of him, screaming in horrific pain. He collapsed, panting and looked at her in shock, "Y... you... YOU DID THIS TO ME!"

Another surge of power flashed through his flesh, lifting him into the air as he screamed horrifically. Kim averted her eyes as an explosion of energy consumed the spellcaster, spraying small twinkles of energy from where he had been. His body consumed by the very power he tapped, a burst of energy knocked her and Ron backwards onto the floor, sending her senses flying away as images flashed by in rapid pace.

It was impossible to make out as it spun by in a blue blur, like it lined a tube she was falling down. They were fast, brutal, she could make out a few glimpses; GJ soldiers in some battlefield, some strange bipedal mech with four cannons, two on each side blasting away as more conventional MBT's drove up, shields of some sorts flashing on all of them. The images howled into a blur again before she found herself looking into some strange, almost otherworldly place with a green sky and green and black drones in the air on patrol. Before she could recognize anything else the images sped away again, a red headed woman on a slab with a white sheet being pulled over. Another blur of images, she saw herself and Ron on a grassy knoll in Middleton, embracing each other sadly, and with another blur she saw one last thing: an insignia, it was shrouded, but she could make out what seemed to be multiple shields connected to a center point, like a lotus. Then the images all exploded in a final blur of motion, causing her to blank out.

When she came around again, she could feel the ground shaking like an earthquake... or the lair being about to collapse. _Of course, it collapses..._ she thought drolly as she pulled Ron up over her shoulder again. Then she remembered; the _Liber Arcessere_.

"Hi!" Rufus squeaked, carrying the book. Kim smiled; of course Rufus would have grabbed it. Ron was near unconscious, but she took the book while Rufus took the Lotus Blade, changing it into a smaller toothpick. _Ah, so easy to forget Rufus has MMP as well. Seems he's not as easy to sap._ Rufus hopped into Ron's pocket as Kim moved, pulling Ron away from collapsing rubble. A massive boulder crashed onto the small bridge leading to the door, cutting them off.

She looked around; she was out of sonic mines, flash bangs wouldn't put a dent in anything, and her EMS disabled stealth and shielding, not stone. More stones crashed down from the ceiling as she looked up, realizing their only way out. She pulled her jet pack's fuse and it expanded; sticking the _Liber Arcessere_ into Ron's pants she grabbed him by his shoulders from behind and jetted out of the collapsing building. She grunted under the weight; she had no idea how much range the jetpack would have carrying two, but she needed to clear the building first.

As she shot free of the building, she looked down. The pillars on the outside had collapsed, the building falling into ruins as magical energy detonated across it in a multicolored explosion. _That's gotta send real pretty images to Global Justice,_ Kim thought in amusement as she flew into the distance as yet another evil lair blew up. Whenever she went to an evil lair, explosions tended to follow.

XXX

**2100 Hours Mountain Time**

**Southern Sakhalin Island**

Ron had woken up by the time they landed, but it wasn't a pretty landing. Kim's jetpack had given out as she had pushed it to the limit of its range and then some from carrying Ron's extra weight. They'd tumbled down towards the beach, landing in the shallows with a roll. Ron had fallen and rolled, though Kim briefly skimmed the surface before she was launched into the air towards the beach and the jetpack gave out entirely. She landed on her chest, face buried in the soft stands. Groaning as her face hurt from the landing, she pushed herself up as Ron stumbled out of the water, the jetpack's wings retracting into the pack itself. Her helmet had fallen into the ocean during the landing, but she wasn't concerned, it was an easy replacement. Ron held the book up; "Don't worry Kim, only the cover got wet..."

She shook her head, she didn't care about the book right now. The sun was up, she and Ron were alive and most importantly, together. She couldn't care less about the 'Magocracy', or Global Justice, or anything right now. The _Liber Arcessere_? Who cared. Even the fact that she just blew up a base with dozens of people inside didn't even register in the back of her mind; after all she'd blown up plenty of lairs and no one got hurt. She hugged Ron tightly, almost to the point of tackling him as he dropped the _Liber Arcessere_ in the beach sand. He returned the hug as they stood there in their tight embrace. "I missed you, Ron," Kim whispered.

"So did I, Kim, so did I," Ron answered just as quiet. It took them a few moments to remember they had a job to do. As they let go, Ron picked the book up and dusted it off. "So this is that book. Looks like a lot of gibberish to me."

"It's Latin, Ron. The class you insisted we take."

"We should give it to Sensei, he can keep it safe. Considering the Tri-City museum had two break-ins already, I got a feeling it won't be safe there."

Kim nodded, "It definitely needs better security, but Yamanouchi hasn't had much better luck, has it?"

"Touché. Alright, what're we going to do? I still have those images from that explosion in the back of my head." Ron put a hand on his forehead, "I wasn't even able to make anything out."

"We head to Yamanouchi," Kim answered, "I could make a few things out, but maybe Sensei has something to make them clearer."

"You had it too, KP?" Ron asked in surprise. "Wow. I thought you didn't have any powers."

"I don't. Maybe it just hit everyone in the area with them. Rufus?" The naked mole rat shrugged from Ron's pocket.

"Well, what'd you see?"

"GJ in some fight, looked like some sort of walker thingy and tanks going at each other... some otherworldly place with a green sky, some red head on a slab, two of us hugging back in Middleton, and some sort of symbol. I couldn't recognize it. It was like... like it wasn't here but was. You know?"

"Sensei's mentioned magic sometimes offering glimpses into the future. Maybe the burst caused me to accidently have one and it leapfrogged to you two or something." Ron offered, "Either way, Sensei knows more."

Kim nodded as she tapped the Kimmunicator; she still couldn't connect to Wade. "Something's wrong; I think that blast played havoc will all my equipment."

"Probably did, come on, we'll find our way to Yamanouchi."

"Your honor to walk, huh?" she asked with a smirk as they started walking along the beach south; they'd find their way to Yamanouchi again. Somehow.

Of course, it helped that it only took thirty minutes before a helicopter piloted from some of Yamanouchi's graduates showed up. Kim had to admire the ninjas and their reliability when it came to rides... even if it tended to be late.

XXX

**Doctor Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

Drakken hummed along as he finished the latest prototype plasma anti-tank shoulder-mounted recoilless cannon meant for drones to use. He knew GJ was experimenting with some sort of one-man anti infantry mech, so he needed the drones ready to handle that before they got ripped apart. _Probably would be cheaper to just strap bombs onto them... bah, no need to justify the extremists,_ he thought as he hummed to himself. _I can use the cells for nigh anything evil._ He grunted as he lifted the heavy thing and placed it on another work bench. _Really should have drones lift these things,_ he thought as his back cracked once he put it down. "Where'd I leave that power cell..."

He opened a fridge-like container, inside the head of a malfunctioning synthodrone that had developed some sense of free will, mounted on a plate with wires sticking out and connecting into the edge of it to maintain integrity. "Kill me," it begged.

"Later," Drakken whispered to it as he grabbed the power cell he was looking for, pulsing with purple energy from the shelf it was on, smiling wickedly as he recalled his brilliance in reverse engineering it. What was taking Global Justice weeks and possibly months to do, he'd done in only a few days. Although he still had to get a source for the specific compounds it used, he was able to reproduce the alien technology in a way that it would be compatible with human technology, granting a long lasting and only mildly hazardous fuel source. He inserted it into the cannon and hefted it up again, groaning under the weight and eventually collapsing onto a knee to aim it at the test target. For some reason, he expected it to explode as it powered up.

It hummed quickly to a hundred percent power and Drakken took the shot.

**Boom.**

The target he had set up exploded as the blast of purple energy hit it, small burning fragments flying across the lab. Drakken blinked, amazed that he didn't blow himself up this time. He glanced to the side and hefted the prototype onto the workbench again, rubbing his shoulder from the heavy weight. He checked the readings, whistling as he looked at the numbers. The recoil disturbed him, however. Synthodrones could handle day to day handling of evil machinery, but most of it wasn't too hard on recoil, this was. He wasn't sure if a synthodrone would be able to withstand the pressures.

XX

**Yamanouchi Ninja School**

Kim and Ron were sitting with Sensei after being guided. They both knew he was troubled, but they relayed what had happened as faithfully as they could. Sensei had taken it all in stride, remaining silent even as they described Archanus. They were near the end of relaying what they'd told, the _Liber Arcessere_ lying on the table next to them as they were standing. The Lotus Blade had been returned to its case, though Ron was now allowed to use it in training and in missions if he chose. Ron had decided not to for now.

"So KP saw some sorta vision, one I think I had but couldn't make out from the Sapper hit," Ron explained, "She grabbed me once it was over and we sped outta there like a broken piñata and crashed up in Sakhalin Island."

"Magic does allow visions via the art and laws of divination," Sensei calmly said, "As for how Kim saw it, it was your vision, Stoppable-san, but the bond between you two allows you to share many things."

"Bond?" Kim asked with a frown, "What're you talking about?"

"Have you two not noticed?" Sensei asked with a frown, "You work in excellent unison. Stoppable-san's magical nature and his feelings for you connect you in a unique manner. Two are greater than one, indeed. Did you not notice that in unison you were extremely effective and were capable of taking down greater numbers of enemies, complementing each other as you fought?"

"Not really," Ron answered sheepishly, "I mean, we've been fighting bad guys for what, five years now? We've learned each other's moves."

"Yeah," Kim added, "Ron has powers, that's his gimmick. I just use my own natural talents."

"The true warrior understands his or her own talents and those of both allies and enemies." Sensei said with a nod, "You are correct. However, those of magical nature are known to make subconscious bonds with those close to them."

"Wait, wait," Ron said, "I've been leeching off of KP?"

"No, if anything you have aided her." Sensei explained, "Not much is known, what knowledge was recorded was destroyed centuries ago, but what has been preserved and recovered says that magic users in a mutual bond, usually love, find that they gain traits of their partner, such as a slight affinity for the natural inclination of their partner. In the case of a magic user having a bond with one without, it allows easier usage of magic by the user, be it healing or warding, when it comes to the bonded."

"So if I get a few holes in my chest Ron could easily patch it up? Well, have an easier time at it?" Kim asked, wondering if this could be useful. As long as it didn't commit her to anything she didn't want to be committed to (in other words, anything besides Ron), she could easily accept it.

"Yes, he would have a natural conduit of sorts to channel the magic required with less energy needed for the same effect. Even should one of you pass beyond before the other, the bond will remain."

"Is there a downside?" Ron asked, "Doesn't seem like it'd be all upside for love."

"You gain wisdom by the day, Stoppable-san. While in battle your minds harden against it, should your mind be unawares when your partner is struck by something powerful that it resonates within the bond, it could cause adverse affects."

"To both of us?" Kim asked.

"Usually, only the magic user in a bond would suffer such, should his or her guard be down when it happens. This bond can also be abused, should the user of magic wishing to do so knows how to do so. However, treachery in regards to it will cause the bond to sever violently, a defensive mechanism in both the magic user and those without."

They nodded, then Kim asked; "What about these visions? I don't really trust them, but Ron mentioned you had a bit of warning on Warhok showing up."

Sensei nodded, "It is possible to amplify the visions you saw, make them clearer. But you two are tired, you should rest, and we still need to discuss the _Liber Arcessere_."

"Should be safe now," Ron said, "We foiled the bad guys and collapsed the lair. I don't think they'll be trying again for a looooonng time."

Kim nodded, "It belongs to the Tri-City Museum anyways, and I can't just swipe it from them. It's not Hench, when he's probably developing illegal weaponry out of it anyways, it's honest people making a living."

"There were two attempts to steal it, do you not think there will be more?"

"There will be, but GJ did a pretty good job defending it even if it was stolen. Took out all the henchmen and got a few of the sidekicks." Kim answered, "I'm bringing it back to Middleton."

"Could you not say it was lost?" Sensei asked tiredly, as if having a difficult discussion with a resilient student, "I understand that you are a woman of honor, Miss Possible, but this is one matter where you may need to make sacrifices."

She shook her head. Ron knew that although she was more wary of him because of what ninjas historically were, she still respected him, but he knew she'd disagree given how easily Monkey Fist had stolen from Yamanouchi in the past. "I'm sorry, but GJ's not as incompetent as I see them, sometimes. There's tracking on this, and I bet Wade's using it now to try and find us."

Sensei tensed immediately, "You would..."

"Relax, we set a cover story," Ron chimed in with a smile, "Wade made a log that we sometimes come here because of some old kung-fu master who's knowledgeable about Monkey Fist and his things. It's pretty true, and GJ really can't get surveillance here thanks to Yamanouchi's wards or whatever it is that keeps Wade from getting a scan here."

Sensei looked at them incredulously in surprise, then nodded. "You hold to your word well as secret-keepers of Yamanouchi's location." he bowed his head, "Thank you. Now, as to the visions, meditation can guide you there. Miss Possible, you have the sharpest memory. Stoppable-san, even tired you have the natural link to magic which can allow clarification. I will guide you in this. However, it may be better to rest first. You two have had a long day, even though the sun has yet to set."

Ron yawned; he was tired and Kim was still in Mountain Time. He couldn't imagine what that'd do to someone. "Maybe we oughta call Wade first. Make sure he knows we're alright."

Kim nodded, "Got a room we can do it in quietly?"

"My room's quiet during school hours," Ron commented as he rose, "I'll show you there." He grabbed the _Liber Arcessere_, just in case Wade wanted to see it. The two bowed politely towards Sensei and he returned it before the two left, working through the hallway and entering Ron's small room. Inside, Ron shut the door and Kim began to dial the Kimmunicator again. She sighed as it didn't work a few times before she decided to give it two more goes. On the first try...

XXX

**12:01 AM Mountain Time**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Wade was staring at his monitor for any word. Global Justice had already given the Russian PBD forces the go ahead and had scoured the site, but there was no sign, just disintegrated rubble and a lot of high-end energy readings. He'd been sitting there since they detected it, he was waiting. Waiting for Kim to call in. Waiting for her to smile casually and say _'no big'_ after Wade described what she just got hit with. Waiting to know his friends were alright. He couldn't grasp the idea of Kim being... gone. It wasn't something big, it was just another run of the mill evil plot. She busted these things weekly, sometimes daily. He couldn't see one job just suddenly going horrid and ending her career.

"Wade," his mother said from the door, "It's past midnight. Light's out."

"Mom, I need to be here when Kim calls..."

"Wade it's midnight, she knows you've probably gone to bed."

He sighed, "Alright, mom, I'm going." As he started exiting his links, he purposefully did it one tab at a time, to buy as much time as he could. As he was about to close the last tab, he got the incoming transmission. He turned it on. "Kim! You're okay!" he exclaimed joyfully.

"_We're here and we're alright,"_ Kim answered with a smile, _"Bad guys foiled, lair collapsed, book recovered. How's GJ doing?"_

"They've combed the sight, but found nothing but rubble and high-end energy readings. What the heck was in there? It spiked even on my system, and I give it a lot bigger range."

"_The bad guys were trying some nasty ritual, but KP and the Ron-man owned 'em,"_ Ron chimed in as he came onto the screen, _"We kicked their cans off into shame and we rescued a few space elves."_

"_No need to brag, Ron,"_ Kim retorted in amusement, _"It was no big. Anyways, we'll fill you in, but Simms may be interested in our debrief."_

"Got it, want me to set an appointment up?"

"_Nah, I'll write up the report. Got a crystal for you to examine before we send it to him as well, if you want to. It'll let us understand any aliens out there that we meet, magically charged and all."_ She explained as she held it up,_ "Anyways, we're going to be in Japan for a bit. You know the usual excuse, right?"_

Wade nodded, "No biggie, I'll let GJ know you're talking with a contact about something potentially connected to Monkey Fist's line of work that you dug in the base. The _Liber Arcessere?_"

"_Bon-diggity,_" Ron answered, _"Kim'll bring it back to Middleton, can't honestly agree with it, but alright."_

"_It belongs to the Tri-City Museum, Ron, it'd be theft to keep it from them. Anyways, we blasted the plot and the aftershock left some things we need to take care of. Should only be a day at worst. Can you set me up a ride?"_

"GJ doesn't have any, Gemini just took out their Tokyo firebase with a giant mechanical Godzilla. GJ took it out, but their air abilities in the region are shot. You'll have to ask Sensei if you can hitch a ride on a Japan-to-US plane or something."

"_So not the drama, Wade. Anything else?"_

"Nothing on my end. How'd the grenades do?"

"_Wouldn't of won without them. Any chance you can give the burst IFF? I had to drain Ron in one of the uses."_

Wade winced, that had to be painful. And not just for Ron, but to Kim if she had to do that to him. "Afraid not. Well, I'll see you back in Middleton. Wade out." He smiled as the transmission ended and he turned all computers not related to mission control off for the night. Should a hit on the site come, he would know, but until then it was silent night.

XXX

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Kim sat on her knees, hands lying in her lap as her eyes were shut. Across from her was Ron, who was in a more standard meditative pose as Sensei sat to their right, arms in his sleeves. "Let your memories free, let them flow." Sensei said, "Let the river of your life take its course and reflect on it no matter its path."

She was doing so, an assortment of memories. The moment she and Ron met, her first 'mission', the kiss with Ron at Junior Prom, embarrassing childhood moments, and some things she wasn't so proud of having done, such as her patronization of Felix when he arrived at Middleton or some of the lies she'd told when the Centurion Project was stuck on her. Oddly, now her memories were narrowing down to sophomore year, their first cheer practice…

Then she saw it: the blue tunnel of swirling energy that had contained the blur of images. It was pure now, but it gently guided down until she could make out the visions clearly, and she felt herself drifting away…

X

She found herself in a battlefield in some semiarid and barren plain. The grass was short, stubby, and brown. Smoke covered much of the battlefield and she could smell quite clearly the scent of blood and the putrescent smell of burnt flesh. She recognized the soldiers wearing Global Justice's colors, but they were armored with some new armor that she didn't recognize, wielding unusual rifles that fired similar to a GJA but seemed to be firing lead. They were supporting the advance of several tanks as she saw the large bipedal walker. It was boxy in the center, like a square, but had four cannons of large caliber mounted on the side, just over the ball-shaped waist where the legs and torso connected. The mech turned and opened fire with four powerful cannon shots that rippled into the ground, synthodrones armed with shock staves moving up in support of it and engaging the GDI soldiers.

The battle joined as the large mech targeted the tanks but missed three of the four shots, the lone shot that hit impacting off of some sort of energy shield, but electric sparks made her suspect it totally drained the shield. The battle faded as the cries and shouts echoed distantly as the vision faded. It sent a chill down her spine as she realized that such a vision had a very high chance of showing a real battle soon to happen.

The vision changed to the grassy knoll, somehow it felt like Déjà vu to her as she saw herself and Ron embracing each other sadly, Kim wearing her light blue top while Ron was in his usual slacks. Rufus wailed from Ron's pocket as the horn of a nearby truck honked and Ron walked away. She couldn't help but feel it was some sense of loss.

She tumbled into the next vision, a severer sense of Déjà vu coming over her as she came out and landed gently on a paved road. She wondered where she was as the vision moved forward, like she was looking somewhere. The sky was green, but she felt like she should of recognized the place. She frowned, swearing she just saw a familiar building with futuristic tech added. She heard the dull drone of several flying robotic drones with a green and black color scheme going by, then she heard the unified footsteps of marching feet. She was surprised to see clones of some sort marching in formation, green and black their uniform, just like Shego's outfit. She immediately recalled Drakken and when he mind controlled her. He had forced her to wear those colors.

_No way, Drakken did it? He'll take over the world?_ She thought in horror as she thought she saw clones of Lars in that formation. Before she could look about again, she felt a tug, like someone was pulling her backwards and away. I became a sudden yank and she went flying backwards, the vision of the strange place fading.

She awoke again, finding herself in a solemn room, the smell of death heavy. She could only see one thing: a slab, hauntingly familiar to her as she realized where she was, the Mortis Memorial Mortuary. She'd been there before, investigating the theft of fresh corpses by the villain Mannichus, and he _was_ the only service in the Tri-City area. But now that the image was clearer, she felt a chill stab her heart. The red headed woman on the slab was _her_. The color had drained from her skin and her eyes were lying shut, though Kim caught sight of Rig R. Mortis' son, Al (Gore) Mortis, with some small bottle walking away as Rig moved the white sheet over her with a sigh, shaking his head. She knew she'd be in there eventually, if not from a mission gone wrong old age, but the sight of seeing herself a corpse, like she was due to be there soon, chilled her spine as the image changed cleanly into an insignia.

The insignia was of a grey that was of a dark shade, almost black. Placed atop of it was six shields arranged so the points met in the center, a forest green gently glazed over the steel colored shields. In the center, connecting the lotus like shields was a small gold sigil with a five start pattern with a laurel wreath printed onto it, a blade pointed upwards from the laurel wreath's joint. There was a sense of foreboding, like it was linked to the previous images.

X

The visions faded suddenly, and Kim found herself staring at the smooth stone cobble of Yamanouchi's courtyard. "What… what was that?" Kim asked, "Is it going to happen?"

Sensei shook his head, "Divination, or in this case visions are unreliable, but when naturally found in magic they become even more so. They are only a _possibility_ of the future, actions that can and cannot happen. I could sense an undercurrent of a lock in some of those visions you saw, like it was a memory locked beyond. I cannot speak of what those mean, but for the rest, they are only possibilities. If they happen is something that can only be decided by action."

Ron shook his head, "That vision… you on the slab… I… I can't dream of it. I mean, I always feared it'd happen. Maybe it's just my worries? Worries we both have."

Kim nodded, feeling something sticking in her throat. It was harrowing to see her own dead body, unreliable vision that might have been hidden fears or not. She'd become very accustomed to the risks. Risking life and limb had become second nature to her. "Yeah, maybe," she said shakily. "You sure this was Ron's? Felt, I dunno… familiar."

"The bond between you means you will have an affinity for that which is his," Sensei explained, "but sometimes visions are meant for others than those who receive them. The foresight aspect of divination is a very unreliable and wild magic beyond the bounds of discipline. Knowledge of the possible future is a powerful thing, but one must not become fixated on mere fragments. True comfort comes from accepting the future _as it comes_, but there is also ignorance in not being mindful of what you see. Few things are set in stone, but for that which is, the circumstances that it approaches reality are not so set."

Kim nodded, she felt like she understood what he meant, but she wasn't certain. A brutal cascade of tiredness crashed over her, causing her to yawn. "I'm sorry, I really need some sleep."

Sensei nodded, "You may rest here, though I would ask that you stay for a time, and benefit from the training of we offer."

"I might do some research while I'm here, you have archives Wade doesn't, particularly on this Magocracy thing. I want to know who these whackos think they are and which ones I need to beat the snot out of."

"In that, you will find only disappointment. Of the ancient magocracy you may find knowledge you seek, but of its current generation there is no knowledge. You have shown your honor, and we will allow you access to knowledge that is not kept hidden to all outsiders regardless of their moral fiber."

She nodded, the three standing as Kim gave Sensei a polite little bow, Ron doing so as well and the three went to the main building. The two shared Ron's room, but they simply went straight to sleep, though on separate mats.

XX

**Infested Grotto; GJ Restricted Zone #481**

**Underneath Camp Gottagrin (Formerly Camp Wannaweep)**

Gill growled as he watched the news on his muck covered television. It still ran despite the muck that clouded the place, made it beautiful to him but horror to those outside of him and those who have embraced the mutations. The news report did not speak of much that interested him, some royal pansy in Britain being kidnapped before rescue by an unknown agent in gunmetal gray armor with blue power lines in it and his steam punk helmet, a rash of thefts in Milan by the Fashion Underground, an explosion in a power plant at Madrid, Spain caused by a villain whose demands were not met after successfully defeating PBD's local response squadron, and finally the one thing that interested him:

"_Doctor Lurkin, your breakthrough at genetic mutations have raised concern amongst most of the scientific community, citing you as a 'mad' scientist who's lost it."_ The reporter was asking.

"_Nonsense. Is it any madder than the doomsday devices that are nearly deployed daily by these supers? Is it any madder than the fact that a cheerleader, god bless her soul, can stop these before any governmental responses arrive, sometimes even beating the already en-route squads to the job? Is it any madder than the fact that mere months ago we had our first contact with life beyond Earth with guns and plasma weapons? No, it is not."_ Lurkin answered darkly. Gill felt anger rising up, he hated the man. He hated him for removing his mutations, hating him for trying to make him like the washed masses. He hated the man with a passion that was only several embers less than his hatred for the squeeb's precious world-saving girlfriend, a hatred that was only two embers less than his hatred for _Ron Stoppable_.

"_So you're saying that this mutation is caused by a science accident in the Camp Gottagrin area, back when it was known as Camp Wannaweep?"_

"_That's correct. There is a cure for it now, though it requires time in a lab. The poor men and women being kidnapped by that monster, __**Gil**__ Moss, one 'L', will be returned to themselves. He will not get away."_

"_And how will you enforce this measure? Heroes like Possible have their hands full."_

"_Oh no, this has been in the works ever since we heard the rumors. I cannot say much, but, if he is watching this:"_ the camera focused on Lurkin, who had a look of determination that would have scared Gill a year ago as he pointed a finger right at the camera, _"Gil, we come for _you._"_

Gill laughed, "Big talk, little man." He shut the TV off with a derisive snort, "Amadeus!" he called, summoning the leader of his mutate followers. The mutant was much like his original incarnation of muck; thin and lean, but he lacked the muscle power Gill possessed. In a one on one fight, he always lost in direct contests of strength. But he had something most of the other mutates lacked: Cunning. His muck was much more varied than most, though he was still only a weakling against Gill's ever versatile saliva. The thin mutant came in and inclined his head.

"Masssster?" he asked, a snake like hiss coming from him due to his viper aligned mutations.

"We're going to show the good doctor Lurkin just what happens when he tries to act tough. He has a lab in West Brunswick. It's guarded, and our spy reports that Global Justice is moving their new 'Telthor' powered suits there to support Lurkin's pathetic little effort, but we're stronger."

"Yessss, such will be a pleasure. How do we march to glory?"

Gill smiled, "The water pipes to Middleton also have a connection to Littleton. The ruined town is only a few miles from West Brunswick. The firebase there will _fall_. Do whatever you wish with the soldiers, but Lurkin is _mine alone._"

"Yes, master."

XX

**Doctor Drakken's Caribbean Island**

Shego frowned, sighing. She knew how bad things were getting, but she realized now that Generalissimo was right. Global Justice's priorities were screwed. She'd raided an outpost of theirs out of boredom while Drakken was developing his new laser cannon, and since it had access to their mainframe she was able to get into it. They were more concerned with small fish and non-issues, more focused on their conflict with WEE than the renegades cropping up. Attacks by organizations like the Order of Faith's Inqusition or the Marine Marauders were increasing in number as more desperate souls joined these groups. Already her vacation planned for August had been cancelled because some guys belonging to the 'Reaper Whirlwinds' renegades had gone on a killing spree and destroyed the place with pistols akimbo and liberal use of dynamite charges.

She had _enough_. She didn't care if people like the Smarty Mart manager in Havana liked her, this was out of control. Drakken taking over the world would help for a few minutes, then then it'd all go back to hell. She was a villainess, but something called her. She knew what it was: Old heroic instincts that never quite left. She had accepted them as being part of her, but ignored them. This time she felt it could be to her benefit to, for once, listen.

But she still wasn't wholly convinced to take the path, and decided to mull over it with Drakken.

XXX

**End Chapter**

*** Well, that was exciting, wasn't it? Finish off the subplot with the Magocracy (for now) and we have had an introduction to the meriur, the fic's local space elves. Once again, scale back is needed to remind ourselves that life goes on even when major things happen. Given I have flaky internet on vacation and this is done, I'm putting it up for your readin pleasure. :)**

*** When I made the meriur, I knew low population would be a major part of them; low birthrate plus extreme longevity doesn't tend to mix very well. Oh, it normally doesn't, but when it comes to a war of attrition they **_**will**_** lose. And they will lose **_extremely_** horribly. Too many falling in battle, too few being born to replace. It's actually why the **_**tericos**_** (offensively-oriented heavy infantry) dropped a comment about Kim being in battle; to them keeping women able to give birth safe is a case of survival for their species given they're fighting the lorwardians and have been for a long time, meaning they're being drained. They don't have any compunctions or opposition to the **_**concept**_** of women in uniform, as there was a female arquebusier in their party, but generally if they can give birth the meriur prefer them not to be on the lines. It's cold logic and frankly I don't agree with it, but aren't space elves known for that? Call it a deconstruction of sorts, if only briefly.**

*** As far as the Arquebusiers and Tericos are, they're a hybrid of the Masari **_**Disciple**_** (from Universe at War) and the Protoss Zealot (Starcraft (II)). Think of Arquebusiers as the meriur's general soldier, while the Tericos is the squad anti-tank specialist. Their weaponry is inspired particularly by the Masari's main weapon, **_**Energy-Reflex cannons**_**, but I expand the concept into a sort of plasma substance used by the meriur as a jack of all trades. Imagine it like Kim's battle suit's redirection gauntlet; it breaks down when not in use, but can be created when needed.**

*** I personally believe I should dedicate more time to Shego's subplot. I intend the next chapter to have some more on that, though I won't really kick it into gear until chapter 17, I believe. (Funnily enough, I'm seventeen years old). Drakken does remind one of the Medic, though… (there's a YouTube vid by hanbi8901 which actually gives Ron and Drakken the lines from the Scout and Medic, respectively.)**

*** Gill. To be honest, I was actually inspired a bit by an illustration of Slyrr's fics (drawn by the man himself) and Gomro Morskopp's entry to the Minor Story contest, , that inspired the idea. A group of mutants loyal to Gill who embrace some classic Brotherhood of Nod style beliefs of the next stage of human evolution, though they're more embracing the mutations as a way to get even rather than any mysterious Kane-like reason. Global Justice actually, to me, feels like GDI's anti-supervillain oriented predecessor. That mech Doctor Director was watching two chapters back? Imagine the GDI Wolverine mech from **_**Tiberian Sun**_**, except slap a GJ paintjob on it and switch the lead for energy weapons. Hint hint nudge nudge.**

*** No comment on the visions, though as for the mechanics: Yes, it is Ron's vision, but because he was sapped by Kim's sapper-burst grenade, he couldn't really see it, but Kim got it because she was caught in the same burst of unchained, wild magic and had a bond with him, which allowed it to leapfrog to her. As Sensei explained; Ron had the power, Kim had the memory. And, perhaps, it was meant for Kim but used Ron as the conduit. Either way, they both saw the contents of the visions.**

*** Thank you to Reader101, Anon, and Crazy for the reviews. Mostly thanks to Reader101 and Anon for the detailed ones**

**-=Document Recovery:** **Gil Moss=-**

_Source: Global Justice Databank_

_File: MHB-88_

_Subject: Gil Moss_

_Alias: "Gill"_

_Gender: Male_

_DOB: June 13th, 1988_

_Origin: Technology (Mutated by toxic waste)_

_Affiliation: Himself_

_Citizenship: American _

_Summery/History:_

_- Gill is the unwanted son of a teen 'marriage' between two fresh from high school students hailing from an extremely conservative and religious community in southern Kansas. Little has been gathered on the details between Henry Moss and his wife, Harriet Moss (maiden name: Leaf), but it is known that they made no secret of the fact it was an unwanted pregnancy. Given the towns ultra-conservative attitudes and the fact they were both locals, Harriet was effectively forced to carry to term. The couple fled to Middleton to avoid being put in the lime light at the local church, particularly Harriet who'd be asked questions along the lines of if she 'enjoyed' it. (File on church: FKN-71)_

_- Following birth, Gil's parents treated him decently, but any true love is difficult to determine and indications suggest there was none. From what was said by his Pre-School teacher, he was a loner who preferred isolation to the rest of the class. Irony has been noted for the fact that he was in the same class as his to-be enemies, Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, though there is little documentation supporting his presence as after Pre-K he was dropped from the public school system and was enrolled in a local religious school of the same denomination as his parents' hometown's in Kansas, where again he was found to be a loner. He eventually was disciplined for defacing the school's bibles repeatedly, and his parents sent him to Camp Wannaweep as to not deal with him over the summer. It's been concluded that his time in religious school jaded him against religion and faith, while parental neglect has made him fiercely independent and eager to get his own footing._

_- During his time at Camp Wannaweep, Gil Moss met Ron Stoppable and became an adversary to him, the two eventually switching their Arts and Crafts and Swimming lessons when Stoppable refused to swim in the toxic lake (polluted by the science camp) and Gil refused to get out. From this point on, anyone who swam in the lake was noted to have adverse effects on all who were involved. Although the incidents were never serious, they always involved medically unrelated symptoms, confusing doctors such as Doctor House in Upperton or (Missus) Doctor Possible in the Middleton Hospital. Gil did not return from summer camp, but his disappearance was not noted to the authorities by his parents. When questioned by police (working on information from the religious school), they said that 'it was their way of telling them'. After this, Gil dropped off the radar of events and was not considered for nearly ten years._

_- In 2002, Gil made his reappearance, now a fish-like mutant with mutagenic saliva. The radiation in the lake transformed him into a monster and he trapped Middleton High School's cheer squad and trapped most of them in mutagenic muck. However, he was defeated by Ron Stoppable and his naked mole rat, Rufus, after the two trapped him using Ron's natural talent in the camp's arts and crafts. He was taken in by Doctor Lurkin, operating out of Firebase Bravo Foxtrot near West Brunswick, and cured before going to Brookdale High School a few miles south to allow him some freedom while keeping a lead on the theoretically reformed and cured mutant. Unfortunately, approximately one year later it was revealed he actually reveled in his power and attempted to use it to forge an army of mutants, though how he intended to control them is unknown to the day. He was detained again, but he escaped from Doctor Lurkin's lab during a WEE attack, though he was seen attacking WEE agents during his escape. Several missing WEE agents in swampy areas indicates that he maintains hostility to WEE._

_- He's recently become active again, having attempted to kidnap or do worse to Kim Possible while she was in Middleton's only remaining gym facility. It's been verified that he has gathered other social outcasts and augmented them with the toxic waste, forging a mutant horde of forgotten. As leader of a renegade faction, Gill is now one of GJ's Most Wanted with a bounty of 200,000 USD on his head, being one of the most minor of the renegade leaders, for now. It has been difficult for PBD and GJ to extract his location, but he has been known to occasionally go to Camp Wannaweep and is confirmed to have attempted to reintroduce the mutagen to the waters there to infect the otherwise happy campers._

_Combat Style:_

_- In his first incarnation as a mutant, Gill was a lean figure. What he lacked in muscle he made up for in agility. In his second, this changed to strength. He's now settled to a middle ground; he has considerable muscle but he is thinner than his second incarnation from additions mutations upon freedom from Doctor Lurkin's lab. Mutagenic attacks include his spit, his signature move, but he's recently gained a wider array of mutagenic saliva still under surveillance. His claws are also verified to carry a tiring mutagen which weakens a target and tires them, though will not mutate a target so long as they decontaminate._

_- His style involves a mix of hand to hand combat and mutagenic saliva strikes delivered via spit. His spit has been verified to tip into the triple digits at most powerful, but generally spits at eighty miles per hour. His mutant scales give him incredible resiliency, and the only vulnerable space would be his head, and even that is armored. Using this he's capable of barreling through an entire squad of PBD riot soldiers. He is aggressive and hunts like a predator, having lived off of the mutated fish of Camp Wannaweep for multiple years. He knows when to cut his losses and run, making him even tougher to pin down._

_Weakness:_

_- Gill is a creature with a limited range of vulnerabilities. He is tough yet agile and possesses multiple potent attacks at all infantry combat ranges. However, he has several weaknesses. First, he can become focused against a specific target and will lose his normal constraints, making it easier to lure him into traps. Second, although capable of firing vast quantities of projectile saliva at a large array of targets, he can only do it for so long before he tires. Although still dangerous in close quarters at this state, a soldier in cover that doesn't have it compromised will win in a firefight so long as it remains beyond arm's length. Finally, special chemical compounds developed by Doctor Lurkin can nullify his powers and sapper strikes have been concluded to work at weakening his resiliency and mutagenic arsenal._

_Conclusion:_

_- Gil "Gill" Moss represents the extreme of humanity's waste. Scientifically, the pollution of Lake Wannaweep (now Lake Gottagrin) has created this mutant and his recent followers and their suffering. Socially, he is the byproduct of religion taken too far and the ignorance of parents who do not care for their children. He must be nullified before he can cause more chaos, but he is also to be pitied for his suffering. Agents engaging Gill are advised to bring additional antidote shots to stabilize their DNA until they can get to a medical bay to ensure they are not mutated if wounded in battle, and he is of moderately high priority to deal with._


	16. Chapter 16: Scale Back II

"_With my missions, I think I actually had it fairly realistic, for lack of a better word. I'd go from foiling some guy's doomsday device and saving the world, again, to dealing with Bonnie in the cheer squad. I never forgot that life just goes on while all these big things happen. You wonder why people grow apathetic towards things, the reason why people didn't comment more on mad science and the like until after the lorwardian attack? Things just kept on as normal, they could care less. They had their own issues to worry about. I'm sure a lot of them had opinions on it, but before their lifestyle was drastically changed they didn't notice it much, they didn't really care."_

- Kim Possible, reflecting on the seeming apathy prior to the lorwardian invasion, as recorded in her _Liber Memoriarum_

"_Well General, there isn't much more to say on Mind Control. If a subject has never been exposed to any sort of external mental control they're nigh helpless against it unless they're already of disciplined mind, but those who've suffered before learn how to fight it naturally. The body does not accept external control and will do all it can to maintain personal control and creates natural neural inhabitations to minimize mind control. When ordered to do something they would not do, it also makes it easier for them to make the blocks So with Miss Possible, I would say that after her, ahem, incidents with my work she's at the very least going to be able to resist it sufficiently to convey that it is occurring if not resist it entirely. Doubly so if someone uses it to make her, say, murder someone off the street she doesn't know in cold blood. Maybe some of those magic users you mentioned would be able to resist prior to being affected, but the average soldier isn't likely to unless he's a SEAL or something." … "Not even just a few moments of exposure will do for hardening against it, it needs to be extended."_

- Doctor Cyrus Bortle to Brigadier General Adrian Malta of PBD, via video transmission on the 31st of July

**Chapter 16: Scale Back II**

**July 31st, 2007**

**Global Justice Firebase Bravo Foxtrot X-Ray**

**Fifteen Miles from West Brunswick, Colorado**

"Colonel Locke!" Lurkin called as the GJ officer entered his lab, "Good, good, I have the cure ready. We can move into the Camp Gottagrin area and clear out the infestation without issue long as nothing attacks us, and I've created specialized grenades that will target the chemical weakness of Gil and his mutants."

"Excellent," the colonel said with a nod, "With the new _Telthor_ mechanized suits, we can face him head to head and stun him before engaging and defeating him."

The compound they were in was shaped like a blocky house when looked at from the air. To the north was a second block-shape with a double-gate, the middle being adopted to act as a decontamination station before the others entered. Two watch towers were mounted next to the inner gate and another two where it connected with the main compound. Every fifteen meters there was another watch tower, but there was always one at the corners, leaving a total of eleven watch towers. The lab was in the center of the main block, with two barracks complexes and a power station as well, the command building opposite of those with a garage to handle maintaining the new _Telthors_. It was small, but it was sufficient for Lurkin's purposes.

"Any other questions, Colonel?" Lurking asked, "I need to brief your Hazard squad on Gil's mutations."

"Negative, carry on."

XXX

**Littleton Ruins**

**6 Miles from West Brunswick, Colorado**

Gill nodded as Amadeus came out from the sewer grate after him. It was all clear; if Global Justice sent patrols to check the site of their failure, the patrols would disappear. Amadeus came out, followed by a dozen other mutants. It only took one of the mutants to take down several Global Justice soldiers, but they knew that the mechanized suits would be an equalizer, requiring only one even if they weren't armed to engage in melee. Another three mutants followed, the total force of fifteen mutants assembling in front of Gill and Amadeus. A firm nod from Gill and the group dispersed into the ruins to hunt down anyone in the area. There was a scream and the sound of GJA fire followed by the distinct burp of muck being hurled as a projectile and the scream of GJ agents.

Gill sulked to the edge of town where he could get a good view of the GJ base, nodding as he noted the good design. The watchtowers covered each other and the only way in would be through the front gate… that is, if the watchtowers weren't built _into_ the walls and thus open to being collapsed into an opening that his mutants could crawl through. He smiled, they could flank around the base and hit it directly in a corner so that they'd have cover to hit the other watchtowers and an opening. _This'll be easy,_ Gill thought with a scoff and moved onto the rendezvous point, enjoying the lone GJ soldier that he ambushed on the way.

XX

**Yamanouchi School, Japan**

Kim frowned as she read through the scroll; she normally couldn't read Japanese, but the crystal Archanus had given her allowed her to understand it. _He wasn't kidding when he said that it had 'non-Alliance' languages,_ she mused as she rolled the scroll back up. It wasn't too useful to her research or Wade's hope to harden the battle suit's shielding, but it did cover the mechanics of the kill magic, though she noted that it made reference to 'western' and 'eastern' styles. _So, it becomes a battle of willpower. If I can't resist the urge to just shut down and die, it happens. Pretty cheesy, since most never had to deal with something like mind control. _She wondered if suffering mind control or manipulation from an exterior source would improve resistance because the mind would be more aware of the thing, especially since the GJ and PBD soldiers who were killed with it during the Magocracy's theft of the _Liber Arcessere_ were recruited after Gemini's attack on GJ with mind control. Returning it to the shelf, she took another scroll, blinking as she gave it a glance over then reading it in detail.

The scroll spoke of special techniques used by a group of magic users known as _Shadowdancers_, and their abilities to blend into shadow. What got Kim's attention was only the ability to potentially use magic was needed, and realized that Sensei taught every single one of the students that technique. _Even Ron has a few of the basics… he may actually be able to use it, but I bet Wade could use it to upgrade the battle suit's stealth systems._ She scanned the scroll, glancing outside to make sure no one was watching her. She didn't expect them to object to her reading the scrolls, but she knew that Sensei wouldn't take the scanning very well, but she knew she was fine for the moment. Sensei was with Ron, going over some knowledge that was meant to be only spoken to those with magic. _He can tell me later,_ she decided as the scan finished and she rolled the scroll up.

Something was gnawing at the back of her mind, just knowing all the insane technology. _It's like we're on the verge of those Sci-Fi movies, and with this magic… it's going to get really unstable, really fast._ She inserted the scroll back to its slot, wondering just what the future would hold. She knew that most advanced technology was either in villain's hands, Global Justice, or scientists and geniuses like Wade or Doctor Freeman who actually made that technology. But what she didn't know was how people at large would react to all sorts of new technology being suddenly unleashed. Superpowers were one thing; that could be tracked a bit more easily, but advanced technology? Once it was accessible to the common man, she didn't know how many calls she'd get trying to fix someone playing with a teleportation module or meltdown of a cold fusion reactor or something equally crazy like a milk powered contraption having a cow.

Shaking her head, she walked outside and moved towards the dojo; she and Yori were due for some sparring and Kim wanted to see if she could use some of the new nerve strikes she'd studied in the Yamanouchi library. The theory was straightforward and easy to her, and given the fact she could manage to land a spaceship after watching a _monkey_ handle the controls, she knew it'd be easy to learn the technique.

XX

**Freeman Residence**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Doctor Freeman hummed to himself as the toaster popped out the fresh toast onto his plate. "Thanks," he said.

"_No problem, the math was sound,"_ the toaster answered. Freeman loved his robotics; everything could talk to him, everything could tell him what was wrong so he could fix it, and most of all he always had company and they had company while he was in his robotics lab. Putting on his lab coat as he ate, he read the _Examiner_ newspaper with a frown. An accident involving robotic regulator tech on a cruise ship resulted in an explosion which wound up sinking the liner. Only four deaths, all crewmembers, but there was a million at minimal in guest property damage, to say nothing of the ship split like a pixie stick in the shallows of Vancouver. Already legislation about robotics was being lobbied by outraged guests. He frowned further as he saw a lawsuit against a friend of his who designed it. Freeman had consulted on the system and it seemed to be fine, ideal for handling dangerous materials.

"_Something wrong, Doctor?"_ the radio asked in his deep bass.

"Just the news…" he answered dazedly as he wondered if this was just going to be one of many incidents before people were ironed against advanced technology. He already had one torches and pitchforks incident about SADI, he didn't need more on his plate, _especially _with what he had down in his lab. Sipping the coffee he shook his head and folded the paper under his arm and got up to go to his lab. Advanced technology was supposed to _stop_ these accidents, not cause them. _Once I crack that alien tech, we'll have that fixed. I __**know**__ it!_

"_Hey there, Doc."_ SADI said as he got into the driver's seat (not that he actually drove).

"Hey SADI, how's it goin'?"

"_Everything's good and we got a full tank. Where to?"_

"Lab as usual, though I wouldn't mind stopping by Cow 'n Chow to pick up lunch at the lab."

"_No problem. Also, Officer Hobble wants to remind you that concussion missiles are illegal in the Tri-City area without a permit."_

Freeman snorted, "He's jealous that he can't hook his ride like you, baby. Let's drive."

XX

**WEE Headquarters**

**Somewhere under the Atlantic Ocean**

Gemini laughed as he watched the news broadcast on the poor cruise liner. "Oh this is too rich. If only there were a few more dead, then maybe this plan would work faster than I hoped! Agent Beta, put a screenshot of the vessel in my quarters, I want to remember this brilliance!"

"Sir!"

Gemini put a hand to his chin as he recalled his plan to turn the world against advanced technology to nullify the tech advantage held by Global Justice and Team Possible. If they were forced to lose their advanced technology because of incidents like this, he could horde it, defeat his villainous rivals, then use the advanced technology to defeat any opposition. _It's dastardly brilliant…_ he thought smugly as he looked towards Pepe, petting his pet. "Yes…. The enemy will soon see its own advantages turned against them…"

XXX

**Firebase Bravo Foxtrot X-Ray**

**West Brunswick, Colorado**

The alarm went off, but Gill wasn't surprised. If they missed a seventeen a volley barrage of muck demolishing their southeastern watchtower, villains deserved to win. The watchtower collapsed, the agent desperately jumping from the top as it came crashing down only to land with a sickening crunch. GJ agents came running out of the barracks, GJA-13's in hand as they opened fire. Gill and his mutants hurried to the wall, using the wreckage for cover as they spat back at the squads of five coming at them. The mutants could shrug off a few GJA hits, but one hit was all it took to knock down an agent. Gill grunted as several blasts hit him as the first of the new _Telthor_ mechs came out to play. Growling, Gill nodded to Amadeus and leapt forward, the rapid fire bursts keeping his mutants in cover. Gill leapt onto the mech, ripping the canopy open with the superhuman strength afforded by his mutations and flooded the inside with muck, causing the controls to spark with electricity as the volatile muck began to degrade the limiters.

Leaping off the mech, it detonated as a squad of four Global Justice soldiers in heavy hazmat styled armor carrying massive rifles came out. Gill didn't know the full capabilities of the GJA-21, but he knew that it was meant to function as a heavy-duty nigh overkill rifle used by the hazmat soldiers. The first one took a shot at one of the newer mutants as they stormed the base, knocking the mutant back into the wall. The other mutants were tackling GJ agents like a horde of orcs, one using her teeth to gnaw out a poor GJA agent's throat before being put down by a blast of some sort of liquid held in a grenade. Gill scowled as he saw Lurkin himself coming out in a full hazmat suit, flanked by two of the _Telthor_ mechs. "ENOUGH!" Lurkin shouted as Gill realized he had a militarized version of what might as well be a Super Soaker squirt gun, except it was loaded with disinfectants. Gill began spitting his muck as Amadeus redirected the other mutants to knock out the Telthors while four of his mutants faced down the heavy soldiers one on one in melee combat where their rifles were useless.

"Come on old man," Gill taunted as he closed in, dodging a spray of the anti-mutagen, "No squeeb or cheerleader to handle me now. You and me, predator and prey." He spat a glob of muck at Lurkin, who intercepted it with the spray and caught what little got through with his hazmat suit's shoulder guard. Amadeus and the other mutants had taken down the Telthor mechs and GJ hazard soldiers. It was quickly becoming a rout in Gill's favor. A blast of anti-mutagen caught Gill in the chest, causing blinding agony that forced him to stumble back with a growl. Screams echoed as the power station came crashing down and the other watchtowers were neutralized. As Gill came to his senses, he saw Lurkin was falling back to his lab with a GJ soldier in a fancy uniform with a GJA-17 _Falcon_ sidearm in hand as the last few agents took cover in the lab. Gill growled and ordered the rest to storm the lab. He wasn't sure how many were down, but he knew at least one had died.

They crashed through the doors, the other mutants looking to find the GJ agents while Gill came into the lab itself. He saw Lurkin staring at him, "What happened to you, _Gil_? Where'd your sense of humanity go?"

"I _am_ my humanity! You just couldn't get it, could you? In all your brilliance, you couldn't deduce that I _like_ my mutant form!" the two were circling each other in the lab like sharks. One would be predator, one would be pray. Gill intended Lurkin to become the prey. "You Global Justice types, you're all hypocrites. You say you stand against superpowered 'evil', yet you don't acknowledge the evil you do. You forced me to be returned to my human form when I wanted to remain a mutant, you _made_ my choice for me. Was I catatonic? Only when you subjected me to_ that procedure_!"

As he came around a corner, a lab vial came crashing into his face, spilling a chemical that burned his skin. He howled in pain as he staggered back, Lurkin holding the anti-mutagen sprayer in his hands, "That's enough, _boy_! I gave you too much freedom. First you kidnap a dozen innocent young women, a young man, and the teacher driving them and try to _mutate _them without consent, then you try to do the same to a few hundred, and now you're lecturing _**me**_ about being a hypocrite?" He stepped forward, building pressure in his tank to make sure Gill would be slathered in the solution, staring him down through his visor. "No, you're my responsibility. I didn't keep you restrained, and now you've gone and attacked too many. There's pity in my heart for what you've become, Gil Moss," At the usage of his real name, Gill howled loudly in rage, "But I cannot let this continue."

"Do it then," Gill taunted as he saw his opportunity, "Or do you not have the guts?"

As Lurkin pulled the trigger to spray him down, Gill rolled to the side and spat a glob of acidic muck at the tank. Gill loved his acidic muck, it burned through nigh on anything, and Lurkin's back mounted tanks would be no exception. The tank detonated suddenly, launching Lurkin out the window with a scream and spraying some of the anti-mutagen onto Gill's arm as he raised it to shield his face. Gill was able to ignore the pain this time, his satisfaction for having finally dealt with Lurkin and eliminated his foolishness was a great joy, a satisfying victory against the man.

Several punches to the back of his head, or what he thought were punches, caught his attention and his back burned. He turned to see the GJ officer holding a pistol. _That hurt, so he's set to kill, isn't he?_ Gill charged, absorbing another few kill shots with his thick hide before barreling into the officer and shredding him alive. Gill laughed, "Pathetic. This the best Global Justice can do?"

He heard something, then picked up the headset from the GJ officer, listening to it…

"_This is Alpha-Whisky-Echo, airstrike on the way, sit tight Colonel!"_

Gill looked up and inhaled deeply before letting a mutant wail from his lungs. They'd finished their job, it was time to retreat, and he just signaled it. As they came out the lab, Gill saw three GJ hovercraft on approach vector, no time to run. Another call and the mutants assembled, those who were knocked out earlier but survived woozily staggering into position. "GJ thinks to kill us from the air; let's bring them to Earth!" he called, not noticing Lurkin crawling away from the mess as they spat into the air.

XX

Global Justice ace pilot Joe Castle swerved his hovercraft out of the way as the muck sped into the air before settling into position and spraying a burst of stun energy down. The mutants scattered as the blasts came, but the stun energy gave them a total free-fire zone.

"_Oops!"_ said one of his wingmen as his craft took a hit to the engine and came crashing down as more muck blasted into it and blew the engines off. His other wingman yelled for him to bail out and the pilot did. Exhaling in relief, Joe returned to his barrage and released a tear gas rocket into the mutant crowd, further scattering them and their anti-aircraft efforts. He grunted as a stray bolt of muck hit the side of his hovercraft as he shifted it to the side, the other hovercraft still in the air being the focus. He spotted Gill and confirmed targeting before firing as massive a barrage as he could, the mutant leader leaping away as he tracked his target. Several more hits of acidic muck hit the side of his craft, warning lights going off. Grunting as he shifted to his secondary systems, he began evasive maneuvers to keep up.

"I got a bead on Gill, take him down!" he ordered as he uploading targeting telemetry to his wingman. The two focused on Gill, the radio informing them that a squadron of hazard soldiers was on the way in another hovercraft with an M551 Sheridan tank borrowed from a Colorado National Guard depot to get the point across to Gill. They just had to keep Gill and his surviving mutants there so the tank could start its job.

"_Shit, portside engine is gone, I repeat, portside engine is gone, effecting emergency landing!"_ his remaining wingman shouted as his craft went down on top of the old base gate as Gill moved back towards his lackeys. The explosion from the hovercraft blinding Joe from the sight of the pilot. Gritting his teeth, he readied every system for a massive spray, blasting several mutants down as he dueled with the muck focusing at him. Several more hit his hovercraft until one blew through his starboard fuselage, knocking his aircraft down.

XX

Gill chuckled as the last GJ hovercraft went down, "Grab our fallen and any still alive GJ agents, we'll mutate them so they know what its like."

Amadeus nodded sadistically as they began grabbing downed GJ agents, pinning them in a glob of muck so they couldn't struggle and fleeing the burning base. They were gone before a GJ hovercraft arrived, depositing a dozen hazmat equipped soldiers and a light tank. By the time they had returned to their lair, the GJ agents realized how screwed they were and were struggling to get free, the first signs of mutation already happening.

When they got back, they took inventory. They'd lost four of their number and most of them were wounded, another five being unable to fight and were barely holding it together. As for captured GJ agents, they only captured nine.

XX

Back at the firebase, a smoking ruin from Gil's attack, Doctor Lurkin held onto his chest. _Internal bleeding, has to be,_ he thought as a GJ medic started ripping his suit off and getting him onto a stretcher. He survived, for now, and one day he swore he'd get Gil, or die trying.

XX

XX

**Yamanouchi School, Japan**

Ron nodded to Kim, "Yeah, I'm not sure about the Conclave either. I mean, Sensei's part of it and he's cool."

"Ron, his way of telling you about Hana was for us to be at yet another eldritch abomination." She retorted hotly, "Honestly, I don't like the sound of these Conclave goons. I mean, they _kidnapped Tara_ for crying out loud."

He curled his lip, realizing that he didn't have a real good answer to that. "Okay, one for Kim. Yeah, I dunno how to answer that other than the dude behind it being a loose cannon, but if they got some sort of crazy law allowing it, I don't think so." He glanced to the door. The two were bringing each other up to speed on what had happened. Ron wasn't sure what to make of what happened in Australia or Go City, but it did make sense about what the Chronomancers said about a 'test' happening. He was disappointed that Kim didn't go after Shego, though.

"Well, he got his butt handed to him repeatedly. That'll get him laughed at, I bet." She dialed Wade, "I'm calling Wade, uploading what I dug up, all that. He should be here for this chat anyways."

Ron nodded as the call got through. _"Hey guys,"_ Wade said, _"Just me right now. I can connect you to Doc Director or Malta for early debrief, though. Some stuff flew politically. Russians are a bit miffed, a Nork patrol tried to get into the area. No deaths for Colonel Orlovsky, but the North Korean patrol got wiped out."_

Kim winced visibly, "How bad is the fallout?"

"_Not too bad, actually. Doctor Director said that the Russians 'accepted the apology of an accident caused by American imperialism' or something to that effect, and we're all pretty much laughing at the villain of a leader who made that sob story to avoid getting Putin angry. There was a minor news story of the explosion, but GJ put the hard data on the hush with help from Russian PBD. They did mention you were foiling another villain, though."_

"Wonder what uber conservatives and uber liberals are spinning out of it," she commented dryly, wondering if yet again both sides would tear at her for different reasons. "The Russians annoyed at all about it being, well, me?"

_"A bit, they wanted a few Spetznaz, but had no time to transfer. They're also annoyed you had to blow it up, but it wasn't your choice, was it?"_

"Just because every lair blows up doesn't always mean that I'm trying to blow it up. Anyways, any issues in Middleton?"

"_Well, there's a protest going on outside the Middleton Institute of Technology from a group of anti-technological advancement crazies. Same guys against things like stem cell research, AI, robotics, mad science, all that."_ Wade paused, typing, _"Also was an accident at the space center; no one was hurt but sources linked the leak to sabotage by WEE, there was another raid by the Marine Marauders in Thailand, and there was a massacre at the Backocean Estate by the Reaper Whirlwind gang."_

Kim winced and Ron blinked in surprise. He thought GJ would have had a lid on that kind of thing by now. They had easily repaired most of the damage from Lil Diablo, but now they were having issues with an _increase_ of villainous activity? _This ain't good…_ he thought as Kim asked: "Isn't that Shego's favorite vacation spot?"

"How'd you know?" Ron asked with a frown, it didn't seem like anything that Shego would say.

"The Electronique sitch." Kim answered simply, "You were sulking, remember?"

"Oh, right. So, Wade, how's our sessions going?"

"_Good. Larry is still dominating, though, but we'll get him. Don't worry, Zita and I can keep him busy. Anyways, transport from Japan is going to be a problem. Gemini hired a crew of Marine Marauders to harass and raid all in and outgoing traffic to Japan. GJ believes he's after advanced weapons in development by GJ's Japanese headquarters near Hokkaido."_

"What kind of hardware we looking at? WEE might of grabbed some already."

"_Robotics. I did some digging and I think they're trying to replicate the Hephaestus Project to make a specialized vehicle alloy to protect their Hovercraft from WEE attack."_ Wade explained, _"So it won't be anything you would have to deal with unless he's gotten Diablos out."_

"Wait, GJ wants growing mecha?" Ron asked, his interest perked, "Or do they just want regenerating tanks? That's pretty awesome too."

"_Regenerating armor, I think. They already have the Centurion project to refer to, so they know it's been done before. Drakken never cracked that for Diablo, but it is a good start to their research."_

"Still awesome. I don't think WEE is going to like the idea of regeneratin' Mammoths once GJ's got Ion Cannons."

"What?" Kim asked in a deadpan tone, raising an eyebrow as she didn't understand the reference to GDI. _Seriously,_ Ron thought, _she needs to do more gaming. Sure it isn't always realistic, but she didn't even understand how serious and cool it was when we rescued Joe Kucan from those rabid C&C haters! Come on, we rescued the guy who's _Kane_ for crying out loud!_ Both Ron and Wade sighed simultaneously.

"_Long story, Kim. You don't remember the Kucan mission, do you?"_

"Rescued the guy who worked on some game and played the bad guy, yeah, I remember it vaguely. Can we get back to the main sitch?"

"_Right. Well, the mercs Gemini hired are interdicting traffic and creating a mess. Good news is GJ located their main base. Bad news is that Doctor Director wants you back in Middleton ASAP, and booked you passage on a freighter heading to one of their Alaskan bases."_

"Well at least it's something," Kim said with a smile, "I think GJ can handle these guys and I can cover that freighter of theirs." She looked to Ron, "You sure you need to stay all the way?"

"I'm sure, I need to finish the training Sensei has." Ron answered. He ached to go back with Kim, but he knew he needed better training. Things were clearly getting worse and he needed everything he could learn to keep her safe. "Anyways, you're not leaving for a day or so, right? We can spend time, I know a real good spot in the mountains."

She raised a bemused eyebrow and smirked, "You suggesting a date? What, no non-attachment stuff from Sensei? Isn't that what mystics do?"

Ron smiled, "Finally, you can make a reference. Hope for you yet, my-" he was cut off as Kim put a lip to his mouth to shut him.

"Sshhh. Wade's listening."

Ron glanced down at the Kimmunicator, Wade was desperately trying to find something else to do while they flirted, but without luck. The two giggled before Kim said, "Tell Doctor Director I'll debrief once I'm back in Middleton. If she asks why… well, does she know I met up with Ron?"

"_Nope, figured that they're paranoid enough about where Ron went. I think they'll figure it out eventually, but for now, Yamanouchi's a secret._"

Kim nodded, "Let them know I'm going to be down to the dock by evening. Actually, where is the freighter leaving from?"

"_Tokyo; the docks weren't too demolished and the freighter came in this morning. They're squeezing you in, mind, so don't expect a comfortable ride."_

"No big. I'll have time to write up a full report. Anything else?"

"_Yeah. I've been doing some scans for Simms on the gear we picked up from the Tri-City museum raid… there's serious stuff. The armor is mildly enchanted or something like that and automatically fires off a mild defensive ward against projectiles. Interesting stuff to look at, but not as interesting as the lorwardian tech."_ Wade sighed, _"Shame Simms called it all in. I liked playing around with forces beyond man. Did you know that they've automated almost all functions on their ships and walkers?"_

"You mentioned that a few times," Ron said with a shake of his head. He never really lost the sense that they had only gotten a small taste of lorwardian capabilities. "You get anything new?"

"_Nope. As I said, Simms took it all. I sometimes think I see the energy readings of lorwardian tech in Middleton, but it's probably just a walker that hadn't been taken away yet or something."_

"Alright. See you in Middleton." Kim nodded as Wade gave an affirmative and logged off. She smiled to Ron, and the two quickly got into more casual clothes. They didn't know Sensei was watching, shaking his head with a warm smile as they walked across the bridge leading to the school.

XX

**Global Justice Headquarters**

**Somewhere under Middleton, Colorado**

"Doctor Lurkin… we've lost fifty agents, three hovercraft, and multiple prototype Telthors in addition to almost a million USD in base material." Doctor Director harshly said as she stared at the recovering doctor intensely. It wasn't GJ protocol to do things like her twin brother did to punish failure, but GJ had to draw a line when it came to losses. "You promised to have a solution to the Gill problem. It seems you lied."

"I'm not a military man, ma'am," Lurkin answered, "But the surprise and ferocity of the attack makes me believe we underestimated them. They've mutated further, they still retain the same chemical weaknesses due to their composition, but it isn't as powerful against them as previous readings indicate."

"That doesn't answer for all those dead men and women, men and women under _my_ command, _my_ responsibility." She slammed her fist into the desk, "You better deliver something, Lurkin. I could understand Gill's previous escapes because of 'redemption' that even I bought and the alien attack, but this is just un_acceptable_." She emphasized the last word, "We don't have the manpower to take loses like this in a mission area to just _fifteen_ mutants, and with Possible becoming as reliable to call on as wet fireworks, I expect us to step up and shoulder the burden."

"Yes ma'am," Lurkin said dejectedly.

"Now get back into the medbay and make sure you recover. I want you at the PBD outpost in the Lake Gottagrin area and work on building reserves of anti-mutagen. You'll be under General Malta of PBD now, as it's his outpost. Your remaining research is being transferred to the new lab, I expect it up and running ASAP. General Malta has leased an M551 Sheridan Tank to support the base. See to it that the tank can be returned to the National Guard intact."

XX

**Load Residence**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Wade smiled as he and the Possible twins worked on the battle suit. They'd gone over the data Kim had sent and Wade concluded that while they wouldn't be able to adapt the stealth 'shadow' technique, he could use the theory to upgrade the suit. It already ran on full optic camouflage, but a few improvements to minimize the unique signature emitted by the stealth field would be ideal. "Jim, toss me that Arc Nano-Welder."

He caught it easily and hummed as they worked on the suit. Kim didn't know the Tweebs were helping, but with the three getting into their growth spurts they were considering getting their own battle suits. Wade already had plans to make one for Ron, using what he learned from Kim's to make it easier to make. _Stuff like this never gets mass produced,_ he thought as he started modifying the nanites with great precision, _but if I can suit every member of Team Possible with this and provide GJ with a few of these? Awesome ensues._

"So Wade, anything new?" Tim asked as he finished and they moved on to doing the final check down on the new battle suit. Wade had modified the nanites so they could run one of two programs: Plasma Shield to make use of the shielding, or Stealth to use the stealth. Wade had to manually switch out a few pieces to maintain stability, but it would make the switching easier and more like a modification than a whole switch of function taking an hour every time he wanted to switch it.

"Not really," Wade answered, "Though I am juggling a bit. GJ wants a new armor material, Kim's investigating that weird magic stuff, Middleton wants me to get SWAT some mad science toys to even the odds, all sorts."

"Hey, want help on that armor?"

"If you got time, but if you wanna check the magic stuff go ahead. I'll give you the pass for that stuff." Wade answered as he sealed the battle suit again and put it back into its bag. "Anyways, you two gonna to bring this back?"

The twins glanced at each other. "Hikka-bikka-boo?" Jim asked.

"Hoosha." Tim answered with a nod. "So what's the stuff you mailed Joss yesterday?"

"Oh, old gear." Wade answered, to a confused look to the twins, who raised an eyebrow. They both knew that Joss hadn't really gotten the 'gene', as some of the Possible's called the insane mechanical genius that ran though most of the family (Kim being the only other misser of that which Wade knew of), so Wade sending Joss gear was an odd thing. He glanced between them as they shrugged at each other before explaining: "Oh, Joss wants to start getting some practice with gadgetry and the like. She's over the Team phase, but she's still eager to join on some missions as she gets older. She's over the age Kim was when she started anyways, so she really should get some practice in to keep up."

The two nodded, "Best not tell Kim," Jim began.

"… she's not eager for anyone else to get caught up in missions, usually." Tim continued, their mysterious yet useful twin coordination coming into play yet again.

"_Personal thing, I guess_." The two finished together with a shrug.

"So what'd you send?" Jim asked.

"Not too much, old gadgets that Kim doesn't use anymore. Lock-pick comb, a set of rocket rollerblades since she needs to learn how to use those, an uplink to my ShadowTraining module, grappling hook of proper make, that sort of thing. Joss is definitely a hand over Kim in gadget maintenance though, considering she could cobble her own together."

"_Oh yeah_," the twins answered together with a nod as they packed up the case for the battle suit next to their stuff before coming back. With that work done, the three planned on doing some stealth upgrades to the Sloth that Kim didn't need to know about… yet. Arty Smarty paid quite well, after all, and they used that to make sure the _real_ upgrade they wanted for the Sloth could be done without the few risks it normally had. Wade knew it'd be perfect if Middleton had any mayhem.

XX

**Unspecified Russian PBD Facility**

**Somewhere in the Ural Mountains**

"I'm not keen on relying upon aid from someone like Kim Possible. The Americans have too much of a hold on that area; 'heroes' as they're called sometimes." a scientist said, speaking fluent Russian with a Moscow accent.

"Agreed, comrade." said his subordinate but practically partner who was from one of the smaller villages in the Urals. "But what can be done? The last supersoldier project went out of funding when Operation 40 showed up and destroyed Steiner's Siberian base, taking out Natasha and all her trainees."

"We've been green lit on some new funding for it, to get something that can take on that cheerleader. Even Global Justice, who seems to shield her from politicians out of some favor or something is beginning to question if a wildcard like her is worth it. President Putin is determined not to be reliant on an American heroine, even if she is honestly concerned about Mother Russia's safety."

The scientist straightened up, "We're to restart the project?"

"Da."

XX

**Conclave Monastery**

**Austrian Alps**

Fredrick von Vage frowned as he looked over the scroll, his pet dove (and familiar) Archimedes twoodling away at the edge of his desk. Fredrick smiled to the dove, "Later, Archimedes. I need to finish this." He returned to reading over the scroll, impressed at the thoroughness of it and on the subject of _why_, despite conventional wisdom denying it, animation of undead was a possible thing. _Shame what I have to mark it,_ he thought as he made the final mark on the top of it. "Sorry, Otto. I'm impressed, your reasoning is extremely sound." Fredrick explained as he put it over towards the student, "But it's not quite enough to put your grade up enough. Almost, though. Almost, and you chose one of the best subjects to show your real talent. This is… very choice material, most of your age and experience wouldn't even touch it."

Otto nodded dejectedly, "Thank you, Professor von Vage. So, what caused the miss?"

"Mostly minor things. You needed a perfect hundred to inch across. Look, Otto, you're not a bad student. You've pulled stunts to get through that other students would balk at, but you're just not making the cut." He looked at Archimedes again, "You have the brilliance to push the theory, and reading your work…" he shivered momentarily, "It's worrying, given recent events. Your theory of using vulnari as a catalyst makes too much sense. You'll understand that even with it, I can't show it to other students. There are worrying whispers in some of the necromancer students, especially those taught by Professor Redhorn."

"They want to rescue Mannichus from that prison in America?"

"Yes, Cell Block D as it's known as. Mannichus' plans were thwarted without revelation of the Conclave, but his students of the theory are still worrying." Otto himself was actually a student of Redhorn's, though he hated the idea of undead and was more interested in theory rather than practice. He'd managed to pass basics, but he had difficulty with advanced magic, which was a great disappointment as with his smarts he'd of been an excellent battle caster one day. von Vage did believe he'd make a fine professor, even if it was only theory he could show.

"If I hear anything, I'll tell you, Professor."

Fredrick nodded as Archimedes twoodled again. "Thank you, Otto. Now, go get some sleep. You deserve it with all the work you put into your studies." He grabbed a nut from the small bowl nearby and handed it to the dove. Otto got up and nodded to him before leaving as Archimedes ate the nut happily. Fredrick sighed as he looked over the scroll again. The theory was terrifying, but needed to be brought to a few others' attention before he sent it to the Conclave Council. It didn't make sense, Undead were supposed to be impossible. Certainly the body could be brought to move with the right magics, but a proper undead being that could act to any degree without direct command was impossible. The temporary animation burned out the animated bodies too quickly and required too much maintenance to be useful in circumstances beyond a single battle. He closed his eyes as he began to magically copy the report, sans grade marks, onto another scroll. He knew who needed to read it.

XX

**Mount Middleton Observatory**

Bob Chen frowned as he looked through the telescope. _Tell me I'm not seeing another alien attack,_ he thought. It was bad enough that he was nearly killed in an orbital strike from the aliens when James' daughter was about to graduate, but the destruction after, the nearly third degree burns he had gained? He wasn't sure if he could deal with that again, especially before his previous ones had healed fully. _I had it with all this mad science after the Bebe bots… oh who am I kidding, this is Middleton, mad science is our bread and butter._ He smiled faintly at the irony when he actually enjoyed the daily pushing of science as a hobby. He focused the telescope on the object again, frowning as he felt pain from the bandages still around his legs and chest. He dialed his phone, "Ramesh, you better get up here and see what I'm looking at."

"_Something wrong, Bob?"_ his partner asked, _"I'm talking with Possible now, he's got a sweet new rocket with some new engine schematic he found."_

"Tell me he's not playing with alien tech too…" he exclaimed with a sigh, rubbing his hand down his face, "We don't know what it could do."

"_No idea."_

"Heh. Well, you have a minute? I dunno what I'm looking at," he adjusted the observatory again to look closer. He wasn't sure of what to make of the large black asteroid, but he thought he saw electrical bursts along its surface. "But I got a real bad feeling about it."

"_Sure thing, see you in twenty."_

"Got it." Bob hung up and looked back into the telescope again, flipping the phone closed and putting it away.

XX

**Doctor Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

**The Caribbean (No, really!)**

Dozens of signs still littered the beach line of Drakken's lair. They always had. Unfortunately, local kids from a nearby island made a habit of defacing them as a hobby, and they knew quite well who he was. He wondered if he should of captured some of them and put them through a few experiments that'd leave them shaken before sending them home, but decided against it as it wasn't worth the effort. Besides, he always remembered who they were so when they grew up and needed a job desperately that they'd do henchmen work he could hire them and _then_ get his revenge.

Sticking a new sign reading _Danger: Toxic Flora Waste_ into the ground, Doctor Drakken grit his teeth and moved on, putting another sign reading _F*** the Cheerleader_ into the ground. That was a personal dig he'd been meaning to put out for a while. Sighing, he started walking back to his lair's wall, easily finding the secret entrance that he himself made. Getting in, however, proved more difficult. He entered the password, but it didn't open. "Blast," he growled, "Code changed again…" he pulled out his personal PDA unit and checked the daily notes. He kept all his access codes on it since not even Kim Possible's computer kid could crack his PDA. It wasn't even hooked to the internet, so was technically unknown. It did have a message from his cousin from his cruise, but Drakken didn't care as he looked for the code. "Aha!" he entered the new code and it opened.

Unfortunately, Drakken was standing in the worst spot to be standing as the door opened, finding himself smacked into the wall. "Ow…" he groaned as the door swayed out and he collapsed forward, a small dent resembling him imprinted into the wall. Stumbling inside, he rubbed his face making sure his scar was still there. It was.

"Doctor D?"

Drakken leapt what felt like ten feet into the air as Shego surprised him. _Ninjas make more noise than she does!_ He thought bitterly as he came to his senses, "Shego don't… ah, right. Erm, what's the sitc…" he caught himself before he embarrassed himself, "erm, situation?"

"You were going to drop Kimmie's line, weren't you?"

"Was not!"

"Was too." She retorted with a smirk, like she enjoyed the childish duel.

"_Was not!_"

"You were _sooo_ going to."

"Git gah, grrr… Shego, I'm not particularly patient, I just put out new signs."

"Okay wet blanket, jeez. It's not like she just gave you another flying kung-fu wedgie…"

"It wasn't funny during the embarrassment plot and it isn't funny now." He growled loudly, "So what it is?"

"Remember the Generalissimo stuff, and his take over the world?"

"Yes, we've been using his arsenal. Why?" Drakken found it curious, after they started using the arsenals Shego went back to her usual self. Something was changing.

"I figure you should see it, and I'm mulling some things over. So, when do you want to head out? I still have the location."

Drakken considered. He was extremely curious of it, but he knew GJ would have the zone locked down. "Not today, and not tomorrow, but before the week's out. I think we'll hire some mercenaries with the funds we have to cover our rears and keep GJ busy while we do it."

"Sure thing, doc."

XX

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron watched as Kim finished walking across the bridge, turning and waving to him before turning back down the path. Ron waved back before sighing, looking to Rufus. "Well little buddy, we just gotta wait another few weeks to get back."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, yup." Rufus answered with a nod. Kim and Ron had enjoyed some time together, though it was shorter than both of them would have liked because of Kim having to leave with enough time to get to Tokyo with the ride Sensei had arranged to pick her up at the base of the mountain.

"Stoppable-san," Sensei said suddenly, causing Ron to turn too quickly, to the point he went 720 degrees before coming around again to look at Sensei directly, woozy and disoriented from the turn.

"Wh… Sensei?"

"You should rest. You have had a long day, and you must think on what I have told you today. True wisdom does not come in simply knowing, but in understanding."

Ron blinked before rubbing his forehead, completely missing the Zen point Sensei was making. "Yeah… it's a really weird bit of info. Why can't I tell Kim? She needs to know something like that, I think. I mean, if we're going to hit the bad guys where they live we need to do some research."

"It is kept a secret for it is knowledge that cannot be allowed to become common knowledge. In time, you will understand why. It is a secret that I was entrusted with, and soon you must uphold that trust. One day she will uphold that secret too."

Ron frowned, then nodded, "Alright, but I won't lie to her."

"I never asked you to, only to maintain the secrecy of the knowledge given."

XX

**Cruise Ship **_**Sea-born Splendor**_

**5 Miles from Skagway, Alaska**

"Oh heck no dude, this is _my_ Alaskan cruise, _seriously!_" Motor Ed shouted as the half-pint villain jumped on board.

"Do I look like I care? NO!" Dementor shouted pack as more of his henchmen landed with miniature jetpacks. "Ze cyborg controller of ze _Sea-born SPLENDOR SHALL BE MINE_!"

"Dude your harshing my cruise mellow. Seriously this is part of my to-do list before I croak! Don't make this hard on yourself, seriously! I got a hot date tonight." Motor Ed was now standing right over the midget villain, henchmen battling it out with security officers and leaving them unconscious on the deck.

"Back off, biker, you're no mad scientist. You couldn't even make ze cut with _the_ _MILITARY_!"

Motor Ed brought his head down onto Dementor's, head butting the villain and knocking him onto his backside and put a boot on his chest.

"_Seriously!_" Motor Ed shouted, "Let's rock!" At that point another henchman charged in. Motor Ed decked him in the face and knocked him overboard, the henchman smacking on one of the docked tenders before splashing into the ocean. Another henchman followed and he flung him into the fourth that came in. Another with a larger jetpack leapt onto deck and sped into Ed, knocking him away and into a row of beach chairs set up for the deck's pool. Grunting from impacts he rolled off of the mess as the jetpack wielding henchman soared up briefly before landing. Dementor had gotten back up and growled, the fight resuming between the two as more security came in, now aware and started pushing the henchmen back off the vessel. A black dual-rotary helicopter came in and hovered, turning around.

"Go!" Dementor called as a skinny henchman ran out with some black box in his hands, wires sticking out of it. Ed yelled as he barreling into Dementor again, knocking the juggernaut wannabe to the decking as the henchmen stopped to beat Motor Ed down with overwhelming numbers and pull him off their boss before hauling him into the helicopter and taking off. Motor Ed howled as they fled the ship when he suddenly found pistols aimed right at his head. He glanced at a security guard holding a taser device.

"Bro, seriously, don't tase me."

XXX

"So what's this box?" Myron asked as they flew away.

"A prototypical control unit. It did not do anything zhat ze crew would not normally do, but it let them do what they would still have to do better." Dementor explained with a grin, "Oh, zhey still checked the systems und made sure zhat everyzhing was good, but zhey did not need to do it all zhemselves."

"So we just did a few thousand in property damage and gave the crew a bigger workday?"

"Yes. Vin vin, no? With it, ve can guide our to-be-gained rocket without the usual issues."

"What're we launching, you haven't said anything on that."

"Zhat is for me to know, and GJ to discover. HuaAHAHAHA!"

XX

**Freighter **_**Frozen Haul**_

**Roughly 18 Kilometers off the Coast of Japan**

Kim was jolted from the report she was writing by a blast on an upper deck. She was sitting somewhat comfortably in one of the lower decks, writing out her report on a mobile pad provided by the Global Justice crew. She glanced around, putting the pad to the side next to her jetpack, which was lying in storage mode on the ground next to the bunk she was assigned. She glanced out the window, not seeing anything, but her instincts told her something was off. The blasts she heard sounded familiar. Grabbing her belt and clipping it on, she walked out and started to climb up onto the deck.

As she came to the top, she spotted what was going on: A group of four men had boarded the vessel, all wearing assorted outfits but with a bright blue armband and bandana as a group identifier. Three held shock staves of clear HenchCo make, while one had two large gauntlets that she didn't recognize. _Alright, some flunking Henchies. Wonder who's payroll they're on,_ she thought as she crept closer. She didn't think she'd need any gadgets, but the crew hadn't responded yet. The man with the heavy gauntlets was moving towards a large container crate. Creeping down to the deck and landing with a dull thud, she crept closer. One of them turned as she landed, but she had dodged out of his eyesight before he spotted her. She swung up round and crawled onto the top of a crate closest to them, watching as the one with the gauntlets charged them, a glow forming around his hands.

She sprang down, crashing into the one with the gauntlets and knocking him to the ground, the charged gauntlets hitting the deck and leaving small dents in it. The other three whirled around as they realized she had dropped in and charged. Kim dodged the first one's swing and grabbed his shock staff, flinging him off of it and into a crate. He was unconscious as he collapsed down. Using the new weapon, she parried the next ones' blows and hit him with the head of the staff she took, shooting a stun charge through his legs and caused him to collapse. The third hit her and knocked the shock staff away when she heard a distinct sound… GJA line weapons. Several bursts of blue energy hit the last one and caused him to collapse with a grunt. She looked up as one of the crewmen in GJ blue held the rifle up and nodded to her, "Thanks." He said as a few other crewmen came out and detained them. "Those MM's are getting pretty bold to think they can jack a GJ vessel."

"MM's?"

"Marine Marauders. Merc or pirate group, dunno which. Some seem to be on WEE payroll."

"Oh. Maybe Gemini is behind this than."

"Probably. We shouldn't be delayed at all by this, seems to be minor. Jacob, any word on their boat?"

"Yes sir! Bringing it into the auxiliary deck now."

"Good on you, keep it up. Let's get this stuff stowed."

XX

**August 1st, 2007**

**GJ Headquarters**

**Somewhere under Middleton, Colorado**

"So, there's more to this than we believed." Doctor Director said with a frown as Kim finished the debriefing. Kim nodded, having told her almost everything, only omitting her trip to Yamanouchi and Ron's help in the operation. "Either way, well done. We're returning the book to the Museum now. As for the incident on the freighter, thank you for helping with that and minimizing the risk."

"No big. So what's next in the to-do list?"

"At the moment, nothing for you, but we've had an incident with Gill. He's active again, we'd like you to be ready to deal with this. I'm aware this is more Stoppable's familiarity than yours, but with him… _unavailable_ we need you to fill in for him." Doctor Director explained, narrowing her good eye at mention of Ron being unavailable. Kim curled her lip, glancing left and right briefly.

"Sure, always glad to help. Anything I should know?"

"Gill has recently gained some followers, social outcasts he's lured to his following. For now we believe he only has a dozen due to recent casualties, but several agents went MIA during his attack recently. He may have mutated them and it is possible he possesses some form of mind control mutagen." Doctor Director explained, bringing up the appropriate images of the attack on the West Brunswick base. Kim felt a knot tying in her stomach as she realized the firepower Gill now had, and what he was doing with it. He wasn't the rogue mutant anymore, he was a full on villain. As she left, Kim could tell Doctor Director wanted to say something, but what, she had no idea.

XX

**Five Minutes Later**

**Possible Residence**

As Kim walked in, her parents were waiting, getting ready for the workday. Her father put down the newspaper, "Little late there, Kim."

"Sorry, extended mission into Siberia and Japan. Ride issues didn't help at all." She was walking into the kitchen and grabbing cereal bowl. "Really rough sometimes crossing the IDL, confusing and a mess for time setting."

"It's not that Kim, it's your Nana. She's dying."

"What?" Kim gasped, dropping the bowl with a resounding crack on the floor, "I, wh… when?"

"Yesterday," her father explained, "The hospital called this morning. They say its natural causes and she has a few months left, but…" he grabbed the newspaper distractedly, "I dunno it's just hard. And with work as well…" he sighed. "I'm just not sure what to do. Work won't let me go right now, we have a big project going on. I'm just not sure what to do."

Kim wasn't sure either. She wanted to just hop into the Sloth and drive, drive until she got there. But she knew that Doctor Director would be calling her soon to handle Gill. She had a choice in front of her; duty (or rather, what she felt was some form of duty) or seeing her grandmother before she passed away. She inhaled deeply to calm herself, get herself together.

It was awkwardly silent in the kitchen as the news sunk into her mind as she dully cleaned up the mess from the dropped bowl. "How... how comfortable is she?" Kim asked, choking up a bit.

"They say she'll be comfortable all the way to the end, but at that stage medical opinion tends not to be useful," her mother explained, "In the 'this can become wrong fast' kind of way."

XX

**Infested Grotto; GJ Restricted Zone #481**

**Underneath Camp Gottagrin (Formerly Camp Wannaweep)**

"You son of a bitch!"

"Thank you," Gill answered as he looked at the newly transformed GJ soldier, "She was quite annoying. She didn't care for me. And no one will care for you anymore. Not that you're now mutant 'freaks' as they'll say. They'll ditch you, leave you in the gutter since they can't look at you."

"Don't listen to him, Andrew!" another soldier coughed out, "Come on, we're on even footing with these freaks now hand ta hand!"

Amadeus chuckled, "Oh, do try it. Cut their bonds." One of the other mutants did so, Gill passively watching as the GJ agents were released one by one. They didn't act. Gill frowned; he expected them to attempt to escape the moment their bonds were lose. _That's unusual. They don't seek freedom, and..._

His thoughts were immediately cut off when he felt it. A sudden surge from the group once the last one was untied. Had it not been for the mind manipulation in the saliva he applied to them when knocked out by their mutations, they would of been able to attack him and the others quite easily. The half dozen ex soldiers cried in confusion, unable to figure out what had happened. "_What'd you do to us?"_ one of them desperately shouted in horror.

Gill laughed, "While you were transporting I applied a mind control dosage. A little genetic mutation that keeps you nice and docile. You can still act, but if you try to act against us in any way it kicks in. You can't hurt us anymore, you can't go running to GJ even if they would accept you. Your only option is to join us, spread the pain, spread the suffering, get revenge at the guys who pulled you into being soldiers."

"When Hell freezes over!" one of them shouted defiantly, though the others were shifting uneasily. Gill wondered how many were actually drafted into Global Justice or pulled in by their friends.

"Damn you," one said, glaring at his to-be-ex compatriot who had defied Gill, "That's what I get for you filling out my application, you fucking asshole."

What happened next surprised them all. The defiant one caught a fist to the mouth from the angry one, knocking him back. Amadeus moved forward, but Gill held a hand up, "This is his revenge. Let him take it." he said as he watched.

The defiant one growled as he blocked the blows with his new scales, grunting as he hit the ground. "Adam, how could you?"

"You fucking _dragged_ me into GJ Isaac," Adam answered as he savaged at his friend, predatorily driven instinct clearly embraced now, "and now I'm _this_! Know what, I'm going to drag you and everyone of your family into this for what you did! You _knew_ I had no interest in GJ!"

Isaac hit Adam back, knocking him away. "Don't be an idiot, Adam. GJ needs every one of us to try and fix what the alien invasion caused, what freaks like _Gill_ caused!" Adam sprang back and Isaac met him, but Gill noticed restraint. Isaac was being careful to avoid using his new claws while Adam was going full out. Gill was impressed at the GJ soldier's defiance, he took a seeming betrayal in stride and fought for what he felt was right. _Poor idealistic fools,_ Gill thought as Adam gained the upper hand and nearly slashed Isaac's arm off before ripping his throat out. _They always think they know what's best for everyone else, but no, they just drag them into a gutter they never wanted to go into._

Adam looked down at Isaac, his claws bloodied from the new kill. The remaining GJ soldiers were in shock as Adam stared at them; "I'm going after GJ. Any loyalty to the guys who'll abandon us as a statistic to this?"

The remaining four edged back, unsure. Discipline clearly held sway in some of them, but they knew something new: Fear. Gill could smell it now as he sniffed a few times. It wasn't the fear of Gill and the mutants, it was fear of Adam. Fear of his vengeance, his newfound bloodlust. And perhaps fear of what others would think of them now, knowing how easy it is to slip into bloodlust that the cleaned masses would want exterminated on sight. Gill let a smile form on his lips: "You don't _have_ to join us, Adam. But will you?"

Adam looked at Gill, looking him over. There was silence in the underground cavern, the drip of mutated muck being the only noise audible save the breathing of those present. Adam was hesitating, and Gill knew why. He was still learning the mutations. "Why should I?" Adam finally asked.

"You won't be able to get the revenge you want alone, Adam, but you also don't have the time now to learn about your mutation. We know of it, we can help you adapt to it." Gill proffered, knowing that if he swayed this ex-GJ agent he'd be able to keep the other four in line by fear and a stronger version of Gill's mind controlling mutagenic muck. Adam frowned as he started at Gill, then nodded.

"Yes... revenge would be sweet. But you better make sure I learn how to like this form. If I'm stuck in it, I want to be able to like it."

Gill nodded, walking to him and offering a scaly clawed hand, the two shaking, "Welcome to the outcasts, Adam." He knew that his new 'follower' would probably defect if he knew just how good Lurkin was at washing away the mutation, but his triumph over Isaac sealed him now. GJ wouldn't accept him for simply proving Darwin's Theory of survival of the fittest. Global Justice wasn't able to comprehend the concept of how the natural world worked, and soon it would be their undoing. They didn't even think to protect a water plant, his next target in the Tri-City area. Even if Possible tried to interfere, he'd just get rid of her. Alone she was able to hold him off, but now he had a group, a posse, a pack, to fight her. Once he introduced his muck into the water supply it would be too late.

Adam shook Gill's hand and looked to the other four, who quickly fell in line out of fear. Gill wondered briefly if they wouldn't try to defect, but the thought of Gill or Adam ripping their throats out would, in Gill's mind, be enough to keep them in line even without the mutagenic muck. _I won't add it... yet. Not until they start planning behind my back. At least we have four pieces of real fodder now to throw at GJ and their PBD buddies._

XX

**Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

Shego idly sat on the couch as she flipped through the channels that night, feeling bored as she went through them.

_Click._

An video recording of a fuel truck exploding and burning up was shown, the reader saying _"Red Flag Targets Fuel Shipments"_ as the reporter said: _"The latest bombing by Red Flag was a fuel truck meant to go to Colorado Springs. Red Flag has released a statement saying that they will not tolerate 'PBD oppression' of those with superpowered abilities..."_

_Click._

It was an image from a GJ firebase in Norway. There was some smoke from the base but it was otherwise fully intact. The Norwegian reporter spoke, the translation reading: _"This hidden base was revealed in a recent superpowered incident that saw its occupants in a fight for their lives. Who are these blue-clad soldiers, why have they been comfortably set up in Norway? Officials refuse to answer but sources cite them as part of a NATO Black Ops organization meant to handle 'super powered' affairs such as actions by notorious 'Viking' Warlord Erikson the Black..."_

_Click._

Agony County was on. Slap; slap; kiss. Rerun.

_Click._

_"The Gold Trade Summit held in London recently stated that recent attacks by the terrorist organization 'WEE' is cutting gold production in half, almost doubling the losses of the last two months..."_

_Click._

Shego's attention was caught when she realized it was Go City on this channel; _"... yet despite their defeat, the Vandals are still active, as the need for Team Go in this case clearly shows."_ said the news anchor.

_"That's right, Donny. A group of Vandals recruited by Electronique recently raided the Go City Institute of Technology only to be foiled two hours ago..."_

XX

**Go City, Nebraska**

**(Two and a Half Hours Ago)**

Hego was closing up the Mucho Grande Bueno Nacho when his cell phone rang. Flipping it out, he answered; "Hello?"

_"Hego, it's Percy Winkley. We have a situation. You remember the note you pulled off that Vandal two days ago?"_

Hego nodded, "Yes, I do." He remembered it quite well. It spoke of a restored villainess and that they would need technology to guarantee 'heroes using evil technology' can't happen again. He hadn't like the sound of it when he found the note in the group of Vandals taking stock of the police station, he didn't like it now.

_"It's Electronique. She's back. That Attitudinator hit she took wore off, no idea how, and she's pretty ticked off. Get Mego and the twins, you'll need them to take her down."_

"Got it; see you in ten." Hego hung up and called the other two.

XX

**Eleven Minutes Later**

"Seriously Hego, what's the big shtick now?" Mego asked annoyed, "I had a date set up for tonight."

"Duty calls, Mego," he answered as the twins hurried over, one of them still pulling his domino mask. Hego sighed, "Come on, Wego, I told you to have your disguise in full before coming out!"

"Hey, not easy eating chicken..." the first one, Wesley, started to answer.

"... when you're putting on a costume." the other one, Wendell, finished, causing Hego to sigh.

"Alright, well, if our identities are blown..."

"They won't be," Percy answered as he came out from the shadows. They were meeting in a back alley, and the ex college student (as he was when their heroics were in their crime) came out. "But Electronique's pretty desperate. From what I was told they're going to hit it overtly, no sneaking around. Smash and grab. GCPD SWAT has a few men there, but they won't last."

"So how bad is it and when can I get back to my date?" Milo asked annoyingly. "And where's that GJ dude?"

"He's been called back," Hego answered, Sheildbash having been sent to some other GJ facility for some mission in Europe. "Back to the topic at hand. Percy, what do we need to do?"

"First you have to recover whatever technology is stolen, defeat any of the Vandals in there, and you need to rescue any captured SWAT officers." Percy explained, "There isn't much time either. Once she hits the facility, it'll be in and out."

"So we'll have fifteen minutes at most once we're in there." Hego answered with a nod, "Come on, let's go. The sooner we're there the sooner we can stop this. If we beat her there, we can even stop the attack altogether."

"Alright, let's move then. Sooner this is done with the better..." Mego muttered as they moved through the city streets as quick as they could. Mego had it easiest, his powers let him shrink down to size to get through things, but Hego had to take the long way sometimes. As for the twins, Hego knew what Go Operation could do with those two. _Never will understand why Shelia left us or hated it..._

XX

**Four Minutes Later**

Hego ran through the front door, a SWAT officer unconscious at the door. Mego was behind him and the twins were next to him as the burst into the main room, a group of six Vandals standing there with their bats and trashcan lid shields, one carrying a shotgun and trashcan lid instead and spoke up: "So, Team Go showed up after all. What, don't you have dates or something to go to?"

Mego was about to retort when Hego interrupted: "Stand down, Vandals, you're finished. Your boss is gone and..."

"Hah, so you got John, big whoop. We can still find others. Just wait until we get all teched up, _then_ will really do some damage! They'll have to send tanks after us!"

"Last chance to surrend-"

"Forget that, Hego," Wesley answered as the twins began to duplicate.

"Hit 'em!" Wendell said and Mego immediately shrank. Hego charged forward as the Vandals attacked. The one with the shotgun took the shot and caught one of the duplicates, causing it to dissipate into red energy and spread among the twins. Hego appreciated how the duplicates being defeated didn't hurt the twins themselves, but in the confusion...

He was shaken out of his thoughts as he took a baseball bat to the head. Grunting, he charged his super strength and punched the next swing, breaking the bat, before hitting the Vandal with a haymaker and knocking him across the room. Mego appeared behind the Vandal with the shotgun as she finished reloading and tackled her, ripping the shotgun away and sliding it out of the fight as he wrestled with her. The Wego twins were fighting three of the remaining Vandals who struggled to deal with the rush as Hego took on the last fighting Vandal.

The Vandal tried to attack with his shield, but Hego simply punched it with his super strength, ripping a hole into the metal lid and yanked his fist out, leaving the Vandal stunned in surprise before Hego grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and threw him away, crashing him into the wall where he sagged down, defeated.

"Well well, you came faster than I thought!" shouted an insane sounding woman. The four turned to see Electronique standing there, electric charge glowing, "I thought Team Ego didn't work without Shego around!"

"We'll always be against evil," Hego boldly declared as he charged, only to be electrocuted down to the floor with a concentrated and extended burst. He was able to withstand some of the blasts, advancing forward as the electric energy slammed into him, but it wore him down and caused him to collapse before he could get into range. He lost sight of Mego, but the Wego twins were charging, only to be caught by a pair of quicker bursts and knocked back.

From behind, Mego suddenly appeared and hit Electronique, shouting, "I got a date ya freak!" as she stumbled forward and whirled around. Mego grabbed Electronique's right arm as the Wego twins recovered and grabbed her left, Wendell being knocked away by one last energy burst as Hego stumbled back up woozily, half blind from the electric overload. Hego looked down at her and said, "It's over. You've lost, and you have quite the bill to pay."

Everyone groaned. Hego _always_ used the bill to pay line when they caught Electronique.

XXX

**End Chapter**

*** The second 'scale back' chapter; it's a bit of a personal thing I've gained I think, watching the KP episodes again. In the series, alongside the usual 'the world is always doomed by Drakken/Monkey Fist/Dementor/You' stuff is Kim's every day, high school life. If the title reads "Scale Back", safe bet is that it doesn't contribute to the overall plot besides covering some aftermath and is more likely to be snippets of daily lives.**

*** What can I say, Gill's mutants are **_**tough**_**, that's how they're able to take out that GJ firebase. Those Telthor mechs didn't put a good showing for themselves, did they? Then again, the GJ firebase was caught with its pants down. Besides, with Gill loose you have to wonder: What is Doctor Lurkin doing? Besides lurking in his lab, of course.**

*** Why was Motor Ed on an Alaskan Cruise? Quote Motor Ed in **_**Car Alarm:**_** "**_**It's on my list of things to do before I croak. Next up Alaskan Cruise man."**_** Besides, I just got back from one. No sign of mullet head :P**

*** The GJ Firebase 'Bravo Foxtrot X-Ray' is actually inspired by the Command and Conquer BROB I'm in on Spacebattles, ran by Gray Area. Yes, it's inspired by my base, though better defended and smaller in buildings. West Brunswick and Littleton were both towns in it; West Brunswick was named by Gray, I just named Littleton in reference to the poor town mentioned being wasted by the **_**Hel's Demons**_** in chapter 3.**

*** I have little else to say, really, for this chapter. I sort of 'went with the muse' in this case, or if there was a small story that'd fit here that was fairly 'normal' I went with it. That may explain the cluttered nature of it.**

*** If you're curious on what Doctor Director wanted to say to Kim, it's actually calling Kim's mood out. Anyone remember the guys Kim knocked out in the Magocracy lair? Guess what happened to it. Now remember what nearly happened to Kim and Ron in there, and that all the Russians found was rubble and energy readings.**

**-=Document Recovery: Global Justice Study on Alien Stealth Classifications=-**

_Source: Global Justice Database_

_File: GLA-04_

_Filed: June 12th, 2007_

_Subject:__ Alien Stealth Classification_

_- Wreckage recovered from the alien mothership indicates that the aliens have three levels of classification for stealth. These classifications are camouflage, concealment, and optic camouflage. All three are known, but the last one appears to be considered impossible by alien life. This verified by several sources._

_1: Quoting Kim Possible's report on the alien known as 'Warmonga': __"There's some good news though, 'Warmonga' didn't seem to understand that I had full invisibility. She was pretty shocked when I used it right in front of her. I think it stunned her to realize what we can make."_

_2: Quoting the stolen databank, specifically the journal of the alien known as 'Warmonga': __"I do not know how she became invisible to the eye, such is said to be impossible, even the best asuran concealment only makes them difficult to spot, not impossible to be seen."_

_- As such, Global Justice has concluded that Wade Load has successfully developed optic camouflage technology that is __**superior**__ to that of alien technology. This opens up a possibility of using stealth-equipped soldiers against any possible future alien incursion as without samples of the technology the aliens will be unable to counter it._

_The Classifications:_

_- __**Camouflage**__ is designated as using training and similar colors to blend into the environment, but without the usage of protection against high-yield scanners. Militarily it has only partial usage, but it does make it tougher for actual soldiers in battle to spot an enemy, especially those not using an advanced targeting system installed in their helmets or even a visor._

_- __**Concealment**__ is classified as using technology or magic to make one difficult to spot. This shields against scanners well and requires close ranged scanning to detect. Visually it makes the person transparent and light will not stop when it hits them. This gives the user a ghost-like appearance, but they are still partially visible. Indicators suggest that it is already difficult to make technology for the aliens, and is only employed by their elites._

_- __**Optic Camouflage**__ or __**Invisibility**__ is designated as total concealment, with nothing being visible save possibly a faint distortion. This is, in theory, impossible according to the alien databases, but the successful development by Wade Load and encounters by Agent Will Du have confirmed that it is possible through both technological and magical methods. Little is known of the theory as Wade Load has yet to allow Global Justice access to the technology, but it is confirmed that it somehow allow light to pass through the user, minimizing their shadow, and adapts to shroud the user from perception. Exact scientific details currently unknown._

-=**Documents Ends**=-


	17. Chapter 17: Gray and Gray

_"One thing I always never could understand is how we can be so... naive. When we're young. It's probably a big part of why I feared the future so much: I knew that once I grew up things that seemed so innocent in the past wouldn't be that anymore."_

- Ron Stoppable, reflecting on how things became less black and white and more gray as time went on, as recorded in his _Liber Memoriarum_

_"I'm amazed we're still here talking! What's wrong with the government; why haven't they arrested Possible yet? She's a freaking incarnation of us butting into that which isn't our business! Why hasn't anyone reined her in, hell, why hasn't some Spetznaz commando or SAS soldier or French Foreign Legionnaire just shot her! She's one step away from freelancer merc that'll cause us more headaches than it's worth!"_

- Ron Paul on Kim Possible and her heroics, in a mostly-ignored-by-the-public news broadcast

**Chapter 17: Gray and Gray**

**August 2nd, 2007**

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron looked up as Sensei walked over. "Sensei?" he asked. "What's wrong?" the old master seemed troubled, and that was happening a bit too often as of late.

"There has been a disturbance."

"_Again?_" Ron exclaimed before he could contain himself. Sensei continued on as if nothing had been said, however.

"A group of archeologists have discovered the ruins in Satsuma and are excavating their secrets." Sensei gravely explained, "They cannot be allowed to discover its secrets, both for the sake of maintaining magic's hidden status and their own if their guardian has been restored."

Ron tilted his head, thinking, _Magic isn't exactly hidden anymore, but I guess with folks thinking it's just supers they have some secrecy..._ "Right, so you want me to convince them to leave?"

"They will not, Doctor Jackson _is_ well known for his archeological determination. He will not quit if he can somehow remain there. Fortunately, he does not have rapid travel between towns and the site. If he loses his supplies of food there he will be forced to leave and the secrets will remain safe. Jackson is running it tight, and will be unable to easily return once he leaves."

Ron frowned, "You're asking me to sabotage a guy's honest efforts and hard work, Sensei. Why should I go and do a kind of stunt that I've been fighting _against_ all my teen years?"

"You are only destroying _supplies_, for the sake of preserving the lives of both himself and the mercenaries he has hired to protect it. One cannot march upon an empty stomach, nor can they remain stagnant." Sensei explained, "If they do not leave, a Conclave intervention may occur, and it will not be friendly."

Ron narrowed his eyes; "Wouldn't the intervention fall in your area? I mean, I'm getting the gist that you were in charge of Conclave stuff here in Japan."

"Yes, Yamanouchi is the primary school of ancient knowledge within Japan, but if we do not do so another may be given the honor of the task. While we hold it, I wish to do it with as little violence as can be. Jackson does nothing wrong but entering something he does not know of."

"That's his job," Ron responded, "He's an archeologist."

"Indeed, and was a friend to Monkey Fist."

That caught Ron's attention and caused him to snap upright. "W... he was one of Monkey Fist's buddies?" he stuttered out, blinking in surprise as the bombshell was dropped on him. "Alright, I get why you're worried now. So you want me to just wreck his stuff? Eh, Sensei, I don't think you've noticed but I'm kind of obvious."

"You will not use the Lotus Blade nor your visible powers, and will be fully clad as a ninja graduate." Sensei explained, giving Ron an odd feeling that this had been in the works for a day at least, if not more. _Ninjas were assassins in history,_ Ron briefly recalled before focusing on Sensei again. "Several other former students will meet with you there and will help. Fortunately, a lack of wisdom saw all their equipment stashed into two tents. Finding a way to ruin those two stashes will leave them without the means to continue their dig until a later time. With good fortune, this time will come when the secrecy of magic must no longer be maintained."

"Alright, I'll do it if only to make sure no one gets hurt," Ron said, gripping his hand tightly. He didn't like this _at all_, it stunk of villainy to him. He recalled his... vision, his duel with his evil self. The evil laugh echoed in his mind briefly as he closed his eyes before dipping his head politely towards Sensei.

Sensei returned it, "You have a strong spirit, Stoppable-san, and it is of heroic nature. That is why I ask you to do this; you have the wisdom to draw the line where many of my students, even with their honorable intents, do not."

"I... I'm not sure I understand." Ron answered.

"You will soon. You will soon."

_Cryptic as always,_ he thought briefly before he turned to get ready.

XX

**Dementor's Alaskan Lair**

Dementor nodded as they packed the jet, "No, no, zhat one goes over zhere! _You're OTHER LEFT!"_

"Excuse me, Professor Dementor..." a henchman asked as he walked up tentatively.

"_VHAT?"_ he screamed at the henchman.

"Fax from Jack Hench..."

Sighing, Dementor grabbed it; "Let me see..." he read it over; "Thank you for applying... will be back to you soon... few in stock..." he grit his teeth, muttering a curse in German before saying, "Ve vill need to find our own rocket zhen..." he smiled, placing a finger thoughtfully on his chin and rubbing it, "und I know just vhere to get one."

"Sir, the jet will be loaded soon, but we've gotten word that the Time Share Lair doesn't have enough parking for the half-tracks."

Dementor sighed, "Do I have to rent out _more_ space? Zhey already charge too much for a shed, und don't even repay you vhen some idiot like _DRAKKEN BLOWS IT UP_!" The henchman cowered back as Dementor seemed to be preparing to yell at anything in range, but Dementor took a deep breath and sighed, "Vell, ve'll figure this out. Keep loading, keep it moving! Ve need to be in ze Tri-City by Saturday! Ve vill _need TIME TO PREPARE!_"

XX

**Bueno Nacho**

**Middleton, Colorado**

"Kim, you alright?" Monique asked.

"I'm fine, it's just my nana," Kim explained, "The hospital called yesterday..."

"Is she alright?" Monique cut in, leaning forward and finding her senses alert as she feared the worst. She'd met the elderly Possible only once, at Graduation, but she quickly came to admire the strong independence and steeled spine the woman had, taking the entire invasion in stride even as people panicked and keeping order. She was the iron fist that kept them in line, but the fist had a velvet glove over it. She couldn't see the woman dropping for anything that wasn't tough enough to threaten Kim.

"She's comfortable; the doctors say it's just natural causes, but, I dunno..." Kim sighed and leaned forward, hands on the side of her head. "It's hard. She's been there all my life, kind, caring, sweet." a rueful smile crossed her lips, "Overprotective, I guess, but in the good way now that I look at it. She wanted me to have something better."

"Hey, Kim, if you need some space just let me know, but I'm here for you, alright?"

Kim smiled faintly, nodding slowly. "Thank you, Monique. It's just going to take some time to adjust to. I'm half tempted to take the Sloth and drive as 'till I get there..."

"But?"

"Well, GJ wants me for some operation involving Gill."

"Gill? _Oh_ right, ugly." Monique nodded, understanding how that would trouble Kim. Having to chose between family and her missions had rarely happened, but when it did it always left her conflicted. "Hey, I'm sure GJ can handle things on their own for a while." Kim raised an eyebrow quizzically at her, and Monique pursed her lips as she began to remember Kim's occasional rant about GJ not being able to stop phase one costing her time that could've been better spent elsewhere. "Maybe not... but they really have to step up at some point, you know. Can't lean on you all the time."

"Yeah, but if I don't step up, who will?" Kim challenged with a sigh, "People look at me expecting me to right the world, or think I'm some sort of invincible superhuman. I'm not, and people just don't seem to get it. I have family, friends, things outside the world saving, ya'know?"

"I know," Monique said, laying a hand on the table as she leaned forward, "If people butt in because they're puttin' too much on you, well _sucks_ to be them."

Kim smiled, nodding: "Yeah. I'm my own person, doesn't matter what other people think. They call me lazy because I'm not on the field twenty-four seven, well, would they be willing to do it?"

"Exactly. They can't call you out on living your own life when you aren't called on unless they're willing to put into something like it themselves."

XX

**Satsuma, Japan**

Ron inclined his head politely to Hirotaka as he arrived, "Stoppable-san," the recent ninja graduate greeted, "It is good to have your experience on this mission."

"Yeah... 'experience'." Ron answered shakily. He was dressed in a normal ninja outfit, no Lotus Blade, but he did have his rocket shoes on and carried a staff if he needed a weapon. Rufus wasn't there either. Anyone spotting the naked mole rat would put Ron high if not on the top of the suspect list, and since GJ knew he was in Japan they'd know who to interrogate first. He knew that this was the _nice guy_ alternative if what he knew of the Conclave's interventions was accurate, but he wasn't going to cause Kim any more stress than he absolutely had to. She had enough to deal with, she deserved a break after all the world saving she did.

The meeting point was a small mountain cliff side near the camp, Ron could make out the archeological site. It was situated in the ruins of the buildings that had been damaged when Ron and Shego had gone through, but they were still working on the door. He didn't know how long they had been out here, however, so they could open it at any moment, and if the golem had been rebuilt...

He let the thought remain, it gave him some reassurance about what he was about to do. He still didn't like it, but he was in it now. He just had to keep it from becoming anything more than a few small bits of damage. "So," Ron asked as they looked down at the camp with binoculars, "What's on the menu for doing this? Any ninja tricks to get rid of those supply stashes?"

"We're mostly targeting their food supply," Hirotaka answered, "A simple concoction using the waters from the healing springs are all we need. We place it under and it will do the rest over time."

"Won't they find it and bring it to Global Justice or something?" Ron pointed out, "If I found a weird green flash under my food I'd be scanning that thing."

"Once activated the flask itself will dissolve. Little but the seemingly poisoned food will remain."

"Whoa whoa whoa, _poisoned?_!" Ron exclaimed, "We are _not_ poisoning them, unless you want me to go all glowy on you."

The ninjas glanced at Ron's outburst as Hirotaka lowered the binoculars and calmly answered, "It will only look like something is wrong. It will actually remain safe for human consumption save perhaps an odd aftertaste. The food will take on a small but sickly glow, but shall otherwise remain fine. They will presume something has poisoned it, and react appropriately."

"How can we be so sure?" Ron asked, "If they figure out it isn't poisoned they'll be wary, alright, but they'd be able to stick around."

"This is the only method we have that doesn't include an explosive device." Hirotaka simply answered, "The question is how do we place the flasks. I will need a few moments do place it."

Ron frowned, considering as he looked into the binoculars again. There were a half dozen guards, looked to be mercenary but carried some form of rifle with a glow on the sides. _Energy weapons like the GJA?_ Ron wondered, it looked similar, but from what he could tell lacked GJ markings. Unless they were undercover, the mercenaries weren't Global Justice. There were two stashes of supplies, both near each other and in tents just outside the remains of the buildings. Tents that looked like they were for sleeping were located across, and the mercenaries were patrolling around the perimeter or talking, at least two were asleep visibly as they leaned against an ancient stone wall. Other than that there were maybe six archeologists around, working at the door. _Alright, if any one of them spot us it'll raise an alarm._ he thought with a frown as he scanned across the encampment again. There had to be something to be done. _Now, an explosion... that'd do the trick. Set off a little 4th of July party nearby and they won't have any idea what's going on._

"A distraction attack would work," Hirotaka commented, "Perhaps that'd be your area of expertise?"

Ron nodded, "Yeah, a distraction is what we need. Fortunately, I know just the thing..."

Hirotaka raised an eyebrow but didn't comment as Ron explained it. The ninjas glanced between each other, as if they couldn't believe their ears. Ron just wished he had thought of the possible need before he packed. Or the lorwardians just not destroying his movie maker magic kit.

XX

**Possible Residence**

**Middleton, Colorado**

"What is it?" Kim asked as her dad came back home looking all excited, a whiplash of his earlier mood. Her mom was working late, up to her ears in surgery.

"Kimmie, just in time! We have some big-wig coming to the Space Center tomorrow." he explained, "He wants to speak to you. It's all formal, but the fellow insisted you come."

"Really?" Kim asked, raising an eyebrow. "Any particular reason?"

"No, he just said it was 'a scenario you'd be ideal for', whatever that means."

She paused, the message was too cryptic but she couldn't help but have a hunch on who it might be. "Alright, what time is it?"

"It starts at six thirty tomorrow night, so you'll have time. Jim and Tim say they're working on some project with Wade, so we don't have to worry those two."

XX

**Satsuma, Japan**

"See anything Frank?"

"Nope." Frank said as he leaned back, yawning as they looked across the tree line for the umpteenth time. He always found it funny how after a job of getting shot at he'd be eager for one just sitting around, then he'd want one with a little more shooting again. He decided that he'd be better off bored than shot at after a few years of the alternations.

A branch snapped loudly and his friend turned, "What's that?"

"Ease down, Bill," Frank said with a yawn, glancing over, "Don't see nuthin-"

He was cut off when a figure landed in front of him, covered in ferns, leaves, branches, something that smelled like poison ivy, and a black bodysuit under all that. He trained his rifle on the figure and shouted "Hold it right... hey!" the rifle was kicked away into the air and landed on the roof, Bill's rifle following. And then the strangest thing happened.

He couldn't describe it, but the closest he'd be able to would be a mascot routine on drugs. The figure danced around, whooping like a mad man... or just one who enjoyed making a fool out of himself. The entire site came to a halt as he began to danced through the encampment, grabbing one of the archeologists arms like it was the tango before letting go and leaving him in a spin before he came around in a sitting position. The figure kept dancing, drawing all eyes, looping around the columns like a monkey... and he was making noises like one.

"What on Earth is _this_?" Doctor Jackson asked, shaking his head slowly as they watched the insanity...

XX

Hirotaka slid down with catlike tread and landed behind the supply pile, gently and silently sliding the flask under the supplies, which were propped up on wooden pallets to protect them from things on the ground. He glanced up briefly, watching Ron's actions. He really knew how to distract a crowd, though he didn't understand how he could do it like that. The sheer... lack of pride it took was staggering. It was like he didn't give a single thought to what people thought.

Deftly slipping away as Ron's distraction continued, he nodded to one of the other ninjas and they moved to do some extra sabotage. Ron wasn't aware, but Hirotaka also planned to sabotage the archeological equipment, just to make sure they had to leave. He crawled behind the cover of the roof, closing in quickly on the tent with the archeological tools. Ron was well into his routine now, the distraction in full. Anyone trying to bring a weapon to bear found that Ron just danced right up and knocked it away, leaving the entire crew dumbstruck. Hirotaka slipped out another type of tool, a small flask of acid, and quickly poured several drops onto each of the archeological tools, burning holes into them. Putting the stopper back onto it, he slipped away when one of the guards turned, not seeing him but seeing the smoke from the burning metal.

"OI!" the guard shouted, but Hirotaka was clear and slipped away, the ninjas slipping into the woods and shadows, like they had never been there. Just as they had trained, just as they had planned, and just as they learned. Slipping away, he saw Ron starting to cease the simian styled buffoonery, giving a little wave before dancing off, leaving the guards still staring at him confused, though the archeologists were swearing like sailors. Hirotaka didn't feel any emotion, a job was done, and he continued onto the rendezvous point.

XX

**Five Minutes Later**

**Rendezvous Point**

"Alright Hirotaka, _what the heck was that_ all about?" Ron asked angrily, having rid himself of his makeshift disguise. It wasn't hard for him to do what he did, practice as the Middleton Mad Dog did a lot. "Spoiling the food was one thing, but burning their other tools, really?"

"It was needed, and it was no greater harm than what we had already done by sabotaging their food stores. If anything, it will ensure that they leave before the Conclave summons another group to intervene."

"Yeah, that's the only reason I'm doing this at all, but did you _have_ to go and slag the tools? Those're going to be a lot more expensive to replace than food. You might of just killed their livelihoods."

"Better their job than their life, Stoppable-san." Hirotaka answered, "Most Conclave interventions leave no witnesses. Sensei feels it better to be non-lethal."

"You _damn_ well bet it's better we don't kill people; these guys ain't got no way to figure out that they aren't supposed to be there. I know this was the 'nice' way to do it, but come on!"

"What is done is done. We should leave before any possible intervening forces arrive."

"Fine," Ron said angrily, "We discuss this back at Yamanouchi; let's get moving." He grabbed the staff he'd left hidden at the rendezvous and one of the ninjas expanded the bridge from when he came there the first time. Crossing over it and the rushing river below, they followed the trail silently.

It was tense as they all knew that a major discussion would happen once they returned to Yamanouchi. Ron was half tempted to punch Hirotaka. He didn't like the entire mission from the get-go, but he understood that Sensei, in his own way, was trying to help Jackson in the long run. It still didn't make him feel any better. He tried to reassure himself; _Come on Ron, all you did was play Mad Dog again, 'cept pretending to be some monkey-man of the woods. You didn't actually do anything..._

The other side of him argued against it. Sure, it had seemed to be a small job, he probably spent more time dwelling on it than actually having done the job. But he still had a hand into it. He _helped_ in it. The other side was raging; _What the heck? What's Kim going to think when you tell her that you helped Sensei and his ninjas ruin a bunch of people's lives? What's she going to think when you willingly betrayed her trust, the things you've been fighting for? The things you two've nearly _died_ for?_ This voice was vicious, not yielding for any sympathy for what he did. _Did you enjoy it? Enjoy the acting, even though it lead to villainy being done?_

_Lay off!_ Ron thought, his head hurting and he felt hollow. _If we didn't do it it'd of become worse, more extreme than it needed to be by a long shot..._

_And this isn't bad? What if they're broke now because they put everything in on it?_

_We don't know that, we have no way of..._

The group stopped as Hirotaka spotted something, jolting Ron away. He looked towards where Hirotaka was pointing and gripped the staff: WEE! Gemini had goons in the area, at least two dozen, armed with an assortment of gadgets and tools. "What's WEE doing out here?" Ron asked.

"They've been sending parties towards ancient sites... it's likely they'll hit Jackson's team." Hirotaka explained sadly.

Ron nodded, "We can stop that, at least. Let's go make up a bit for what we did."

XX

**Load Residence**

**Middleton, Colorado**

"Alright Jim, Tim, what do you think?" Wade asked as he forwarded them the data. He knew they'd like it, it was their idea but streamlined. The two twins brought it up and read it over, nodding.

_"Sound science, Wade."_ Jim started.

_"It should work and not even be noticeable until we tell her."_ Tim finished, smiling widely.

"Alright, know of a good time to pull it off? Kim can't be around or she'll get angry about it and we need time with the Sloth, extended too."

_"Tomorrow night,"_ Tim started as the twins grinned even wider.

_"Kim's off with our dad for some big time function, so we got plenty of time tomorrow night."_ Jim explained further. _"Six thirty until I don't know, but we did mention you'd be over to work on some tech with us."_

Wade smiled, nodding, "Got it, see you two tomorrow.

XX

**Satsuma, Japan**

Ron crouched behind the bush, lying in wait as they prepared to ambush the WEE agents. He counted a few ninjas moving in the open with the group, so it didn't look like they were expecting a fight... yet. _WEE ninjas always stay in stealth if there's a chance, so whatever they're up to, they feel confident nothing'll happen._ Ron thought, recalling his previous encounters with the Worldwide Evil Empire and the few tidbits he paid attention to in the GJ database. What caught Ron's attention was some sort of harness worn by a few agents and some sort of gadget connected to it on their left arms, like a tech tool. He didn't know what it was, but he made a note to keep an eye on it and salvage one if he could. He glanced at a nearby branch and waited.

He saw Hirotaka in his position and snapped the branch. The sound echoed throughout the clearing, the WEE agents freezing in place as Ron made the 'blunder'. _Oops,_ he thought, right until he leapt out and hit the nearest WEE ninja in the face with the staff he had, knocking him out.

The other ninjas had already acted, getting into melee battles with the agents and fighting the agents. The odds didn't look hot at first, seven against twenty-four, but the WEE agents had been caught by surprise and six were down already.

"Deploying TECH!" shouted one of the WEE agents with the new harness as an orange glow lined his new gadgetry. Ron's eyes widened as the WEE agent fired a blast of flaming energy, the fireball hitting one of the Yamanouchi ninjas and blasting her into the bushes. She didn't get up. Ron charged his magic and flipped over a WEE agent's shock staff blast. As he landed, a small shockwave shot towards the WEE agent and knocked him onto his back.

"Engie down!" shouted a WEE agent as he blocked Hirotaka's blows, "Don't let them- OOF!" he was kicked in the gut by a blow that bypassed him and Hirotaka used that to get in with Mantis kung fu, leaving the agent battered on the floor. Ron whirled around to resume his duel with the previous agent as another of the 'engineers' lined up a shot. Ron knocked his opponent's shock staff out of the way and readied his ward. The engineer fired from his unusual gauntlet and this time a burst of glacial ice, or what looked like a collection of it channeled into a ball, shot at him and impacted the barrier. Ron staggered back from the concussive force behind the blow, feeling a sudden chill that had bypassed his ward as the frosty mist hung in the air briefly.

Ron turned his attention to the agent he was dueling one last time and knocked his shock staff away by charging the simple wooden staff he was using, breaking the advanced hardware, but Ron knew he was now pushing himself as the drain of magic usage began to be visible to him in the adrenaline of combat. His opponents staff broken, hit his opponent in the forehead with the now uncharged butt of the staff, knocking him backwards and a simple swipe of the staff knocked him to the floor. "Booyah!" Ron shouted as he leapt at the engineer, dodging another fire blast from his gauntlet. He came down and landed on the engineers shoulder, knocking him to the floor and straddling him between his legs. Ron had dropped the staff and started punching, hitting the engineer twice in the face and pulled back for the third when he took another ice blast to the back from the third and final engineer, who was subsequently bested by one of the ninjas.

Rolling forward and coming around, Ron saw that only four of the Yamanouchi ninjas were still up as the final WEE ninja disabled one of them before Hirotaka engaged him in a duel. The two left the battle as their fight turned to the woods, leaving Ron and three others to deal with the last eight WEE agents. Ron pitied the WEE agents, as they were outnumbered. And it wasn't his pride talking either, the baseline henchmen really were outnumbered in _skill_.

Ron charged, his ward absorbing several hits from the WEE agents as they focused fire on him with their shock staves, finally realizing this guy had to go down. Ron charged his magic, the blue energy glowing around his hands and when he struck the agent, the simian howl echoed as he sent the agent flying into one of his buddies. The ninjas were engaged with the remaining group, but Ron was able to pull one away and take him on face to face, head butting his opponent and knocking him backwards onto his back as the other ninjas finished off.

"Everyone alright?" Ron asked as the last one fell.

"Fine, Stoppable-san," answered one of them as they checked the ninjas who had been knocked out. No one was severely hurt, just minor concussions and bruises, but they needed to leave. Soon.

They just had to figure out where Hirotaka went.

XX

Hirotaka leapt after the ninja as he hid in the trees. Whoever this individual was, he was _good_, and fought like a graduate from Yamanouchi. As he came up to the tree limb he grabbed it and swung up onto it, facing his opponent directly. The two held their stances for a moment before the WEE ninja made the first move. Hirotaka blocked and retaliated deftly, but so did his opponent. Strike and counterstrike, it was evenly matched. Hirotaka ducked under the next blow and dropped down to a branch below, the ninja leaping down to follow him. He took the chance to move out of the way, swinging under the branch and coming around to kick the ninja in the back, knocking him off.

The ninja recovered in midair and hurled a grappling hook to another tree, roping along and dropping to the forest floor. Hirotaka leapt down to follow, landing behind as the ninja ran into the woods. Hirotaka followed, dodging branches being pulled by the ninja as he ran to let them spring back to hit him. As the ninja came to a sudden cliff face over a river he turned and the two began to duel again. Hirotaka stuck swiftly, just missing as the ninja leaned his head out of the way. The ninja stuck low and he jumped over the blow, kicking as he did so only to be blocked again. Hirotaka grunted as he took a hit to the shoulder but didn't let it slow him down and struck back, hitting his opponent in the knee, a perfect joint strike.

The ninja stumbled from the blow and staggered out of the way away from the cliff as he came around again. Strike, counterstrike, they entered a rhythm of battle again, but Hirotaka knew he'd gained an advantage with the joint strike and forced his opponent back, keeping himself from being pinned by the cliff side. The ninja grabbed a smoke bomb after Hirotaka connected several well chained together strikes, the smoke bomb being detonated and covering the area in smoke, blinding him. He simply closed his eyes and listened, before speeding in the appropriate direction, grabbing the ninja as he found his hiding place in a nearby bush and pinned him down before knocking him out.

His opponent defeated, Hirotaka checked him for anything useful, finding documents that carried orders, mildly crumpled from the punches. _Sloppy,_ Hirotaka decided in the end. He was a very good fighter, but as a hired hand he was sloppy for carrying orders on-hand that seemed to be for him. He glanced up as someone came through the trees; it was Ron. "Stoppable-san," he said with a nod, holding the WEE ninja with one hand.

"Hey, got them all. A few're unconscious, but no one was really hurt."

Hirotaka nodded, "Good. I think we can find out more of this group," he held up the document. "Sensei can make more of it, and I suspect this man was a Yamanouchi graduate."

"Wait, your graduates seriously would work for a guy like Gemini?"

"Once graduated, many of us are mercenary so long as we do not possess magical talent. Sensei leaves most Conclave based knowledge from our training other than basics so we're not limited in our lifestyle, and you are the first magic user we have had in training for twenty years."

"Really? And no one's concerned?"

"Sensei says that some Conclavists have spoken to him about you, but beyond that I know little. Come, we should return."

Ron nodded firmly, "Let's go. I'm done with this place..." He gave him a brief glare that told Hirotaka all he needed to know. Ron still didn't forgive the extra length he went to make sure Doctor Jackson and his team didn't attract proper Conclave attention.

XX

**56 Minutes Later**

**Yamanouchi Ninja School**

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

"Sensei, why was Hirotaka given acid that could melt tools? I thought the plan was to just sabotage the food." Ron asked, "That was all I agreed to."

"It was an emergency plan," Sensei explained calmly, "I knew that if Jackson saw through the non-lethal sabotage he would continue. Unyielding will can never be broken easily."

"So it was a back up... why did Hirotaka do it when we hadn't seen if the plan failed yet?"

They had stayed at the site long enough to verify Jackson leaving after dealing with the WEE agents, and Jackson had left, the crew packing up quickly and angrily. Ron still felt bad for them, still felt like that shouldn't of happened. _Heck,_ Ron had thought, _maybe they'd of given GJ something on these Magocracy dudes that could be verified besides Kim, we've all seen what one badass finding the truth tends to lead to with politicians..._ he still wished he thought of that earlier. But how he would convince Sensei he had no idea. It was a quiet trip back to Yamanouchi, and Ron had read over the documents found on the WEE agents, they were after some arsenal in the area, an arms stash of some sorts. The large group was sent to make sure it was escorted back safely in the event Global Justice showed up. Ron intended to forward it to GJ as well as the harnesses he'd salvaged from the WEE agents.

Hirotaka answered Ron's question; "As Sensei said, Jackson is determined. I knew that your distraction would only work once, and in a hope to ensure that Jackson would not risk it and deal with the minor effects of our sabotage if he figured it out, I destroyed the tools he needed stealthily thanks to your distraction."

Ron gripped his hand into a fist, "I still think we... you went too far. It shouldn't of come to this."

"I agree, Stoppable-san," Sensei explained, "But history cannot be changed, only understood and learned from. Wisdom comes not from knowing the future, but knowing the past. Doctor Jackson understood it, but in this one time it was to folly, and to no fault of his own."

"How can you be so calm about it?" Ron asked, "We probably just ruined his livelihood."

"Knowledge of the alternative, Stoppable-san, knowledge of the alternative." Sensei explained sadly, as if he knew it would lead to something horrible. Ron wasn't sure, but he remembered what Thackeray was willing to do in regards to the _Liber Arcessere_. _This Conclave always seems to being less and less appealing as an ally the more I learn of them._ he thought, wondering if Yamanouchi would come back to bite him since it seemed to have Conclave connections, _I hope I don't have to fight them as well as whatever this Magocracy dudes got._

An awkward silence followed when Ron broke it, "So, what now. We should forward this stuff to Global Justice, they can make use of it and need to know what Gemini's packing."

"I agree, they should be sent what was recovered. It's likely the WEE henchmen recovered and are returning now, the sooner Global Justice knows the sooner they can prepare."

"Alright, I'll go visit the nearest GJ station and drop it off before scooting before they can track me. They're pretty suspicious about me being off the radar."

XX

**August 3rd, 2007**

**6:30 PM Mountain Time**

**Middleton Space Center**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim was dressed in formal wear as she walked in after her father, wearing one of his formal tuxes for the event and her mother working late again. She glanced around, she could see Ramesh and Chen discussing something in a corner, Vivian Porter talking with Missus Renton, and a host of other scientists talking, almost everyone in their formal wear, a few accompanied by their spouses. The head of the Space Center was talking with a man in a formal uniform with a number of rank insignias, shorter than her with a bald head and distinct dark-lenses glasses...

"Excuse me a moment," Kim said to her father, who nodded and went towards Chen and Ramesh. She eased her way through the crowd at the space center's main meeting room. She thought she recognized him and moved closer.

"Yes," the director of the space center said, "We have a rocket that can match those specifications, but why the meeting..."

"This is why," the man said with a Texan accent, nodding to Kim, "A definite Four-Eight-Six Dash Omega scenario. Good to see you again, Miss Possible."

"General?" the head of the space center asked, raising an eyebrow. Kim took it as a cue that his rank seemed to be known, if not his position.

"Good to see you again as well, General," Kim answered, "What brings you to Middleton? I thought you had your own things to oversee." she made a point of being as vague as possible until she knew just how much Simms declassified.

"You haven't heard, have you?" Simms answered with a raised eyebrow, "I was under the impression that your dad would have spoken of it."

"Spoken of what?"

"I'll tell you shortly, we just need to get the formalities out of the way here first. You ought to be here for it, given the dangers. You're here in Middleton regardless, so you being unaware would be foolish." Simms glanced around conspiratorially.

"What do you mean, 'formalities'?" she asked in confusion, "Wouldn't it of been easier just to invite those who're needed?"

"You'll see; you'd better go back to your father."

Kim frowned but nodded.

As she neared her dad, she overheard him talking with his two friends. "So he's here about what you found, Bob?" her dad asked.

"Absolutely," he answered. "That thing was _huge_! Big enough it was at least what got the Dinosaurs."

"If my calculations are right, it's on a direct trajectory with Earth too. No way to avoid it, just hope for the best." Ramesh added worriedly.

"If there's a big-wig here and he doesn't want to see verification, I think there's a plan in the works. But why Middleton Space Center? There's other space centers like Cape Canaveral that deals with these sort of things... oh, Kimmie!" her father said, turning, "You figure out what they wanted you for?"

"They'll tell me later, I guess," Kim answered with a shrug as the director asked people to take their seats. Kim followed her dad to theirs, sitting between him and Bob Chen's wife and listening as the man droned on about the Space Center's history. She didn't even know what the whole point of this was for Simms to be here. It wasn't like him at all to be here for something that wasn't important, and she knew that it had to be. _Come on, I could of tried to talk to Nana if she was awake now..._

Finally, however, the speech came to an end and the director said. _"And now I'd like to speak with Doctors Possible, Chen, Ramesh, Porter, Viridan, I'll speak to you in Lab room 3. To everyone else, good night, and I wish you a safe drive home."_

Kim got up with the crowd, shrugging to her dad and following the majority of the crowd out when one of the space center's newly hired security officers stopped her at the exit, gesturing her to the side. "Miss Possible," he said with a brief nod, "You've been asked to join that meeting as well by the Director. It's important."

"Alright, thanks. I can find my own way." The security guard raised an eyebrow then nodded. Indeed she did; besides always going to the Rocket Boosters she'd been around the lab a few times when her dad had to babysit her, and the occasional sitch in the Space Center meant she was well versed with its layout by now. She left the crowd quickly, following the quiet hallways that were roads less travelled by at that point.

She finally reached the lab and knocked on the open door, the group looked at her and Simms nodded. "Miss Possible, good that you've joined us."

"Can you tell us what she's needed here for, General Simms?"

The General nodded, "As you're all aware, this is top classified data. Professor Ramesh, would you bring up the image?"

The African-American astronomer nodded and brought up an image on the lab's main screen. It was a large black asteroid with small electric jolts across its surface. Kim was stunned, the readout indicated it was a four miles large asteroid, big enough that if it hit Earth... she pushed the thought out of her mind, that was the last thing she wanted to be thinking about. In that moment she completely forgot about her Nana's situation as her heroine side kicked in. Whatever it was, it had to be stopped. _Okay, that wasn't seen any time before, this is recent._ she thought before Doctor Renton asked; "What is it?"

"Unidentified asteroid," Simms answered in usual military precision, "It's a Four-Eight-Six Dash Omega scenario: Theoretical apocalypse form impact, as you can tell by the readings." He didn't even stop as the realization clicked for the rest of the scientists, "We're calling on Middleton Space Center as it has in its more unique research and irregular experiments in conventional scale means it's best suited to carry a strategic nuclear warhead capable of breaking it apart at minimal."

Kim was stunned, and the entire room fell quiet. A _nuclear warhead?_

"General Simms..." the Space Center director said, "Is this the only option?"

Simms nodded gravely, "Other options were considered and considering that we only have one shot it was decided to be used with as much firepower as could be assembled. This has been discussed since information was gathered and has been authorized by all channels. If we could of used less, we would have."

"What about international backlash?" Doctor Renton asked, shock thick in her voice.

"Security Council has also had a say in this matter and agreed with the assessment in light of independent investigation of the matter by a non-US committee. Given the US currently has the most reliable warhead it will be a US launched warhead from a mutually agreed launch site and tracked by all parties to make sure it does not fall into the wrong hands. Every precaution is being taken because we're looking at the final option. What we do _not_ have is the powerful speed to hit it in time, and only one rocket has what we need."

"You need the Keppler 2.5 rocket engine?" her dad asked, stunned.

"I'm afraid so, Doctor Possible. It's our only chance of hitting it with a chance of minimizing the impact. This is why I brought your daughter." he pressed a button, showing an image of one of Dementor's time share lairs, "Global Justice recently acquired intel detailing the mad scientist known as Dementor is after the Keppler 2.5 rocket for his own plans. Given the severity of the situation and the near activation of previous weapons of mass destruction involving mad scientists, it was deemed of tactical importance that she understand the scale."

Kim gulped. Sure, she'd saved the world countless times before and had even stopped villains who had grabbed some of the smallest nukes in the world, ones no larger than a handheld grenade and always smaller than the city-busters used in World War II. But this was another scale... _no, it's not,_ she reminded herself as her cool logical side evaluated the situation. _It's just the usual, foil Dementor, save piece of advanced technology. The price of failure is just higher, that's all._

"Where's Dementor now? I can take him down so you have all the room you need." Kim offered, "Better take the offensive in this case."

Simms nodded, "Agreed, but Dementor discovered that he'd been spotted and has gone mobile, evading GJ tracking. I'll brief you later, but you won't be alone in that operation." he turned towards the scientists, "We need the Keppler 2.5 for a delivery system. I can't promise the rocket back, even if we detach the warhead to hit the asteroid and let the rocket speed back, but I'd rather ask than commandeer."

"I understand," her father said with a nod, "It's just that we haven't completed testing, and with the loss of the original Keppler 2 we've had to replace a lot of equipment."

Simms nodded, "That's why we had to have the formal; to cover the funding boost we're giving to you for auditors."

Now some of the speech made sense to her and the discussion turned into technical information and planning of how to do it. Simms had suggested she go to a nearby room and call Doctor Director, and she did so. As she walked, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever get a chance to visit her Nana before college. _Not until this is averted, at least,_ she decided. It sounded like a lot of it was ready to go and all they needed was time to finish and ready it for transport. She stepped into a side closet and started tapping buttons on her wrist Kimmunicator, dialing for Doctor Director.

The leader of Global Justice appeared, nodding, _"Kimberly. We're aware of what's going on."_

Kim simply gave a grave nod and asked, "What's the sitch on Dementor?"

_"We've confirmed he intends to use the Keppler 2.5 rocket to place a mass mind control satellite in orbit, decorated with defenses to keep any form of anti-satellite strikes from hitting it once in orbit and capable of mind controlling any segment of the world Dementor needs it to. Presumably, once in orbit he intends to put others up and establish a network."_

"Got it. So what do you need me to do for the moment?"

_"For now, remain vigilant. However, I would like to ask what Stoppable is up to in Japan, again. He recently sent some things over to us, new WEE technology and data on their base and mission, then eluded our tracking when we tried to follow."_

Kim curled her lip, wondering what Sensei was having Ron do now. Obviously it lead to a fight with Gemini, whatever it was. "Can't really say, Doctor Director. I have as much contact with him as you do." Still, she didn't like that GJ tried to follow Ron. _Then again, I didn't tell him Wade put a tracking device in... I better make sure he doesn't have one on me._

Doctor Director simply nodded, "_Well, the operation with Gill is being delayed because of this, but it will still be initiated once we've dealt with Dementor here. As soon as the operation with Dementor is completed we will move onto Gill and make sure he's detained."_

"Right. Anything else?"

_"No, but be wary. If Dementor strikes in force other villains may use the opening; the Keppler 2.5 is nothing to sneer at even for a villain. If Dementor leaves a security hole it's possible other villains will aim to take advantage of the hole."_

"So we keep Dementor from getting close." Kim said, "Besides me and the Space Center's security, what do we have to stop this?"

_"General Simms says he's bringing an elite of his own to assist you as well as additional soldiers, and there'll be several Global Justice teams on stand-by to aid in Middleton while PBD focuses on other activities in Upperton and Lowerton."_

"I can deal with that. I'll talk to Wade, see if he can't cook something up to make this whole mess easier for all of us."

_"He's been doing something. It should help."_

Kim glanced at the time readout in screen; it'd be a bit before that meeting finished most likely. "I'll speak to him when I get home, then. You know how to call me."

_"Yes. Doctor Director out."_

The transmission cut and Kim sighed. It was going to be an interesting next few days, that was for sure.

XXX

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron parried the blow deftly, blocking every strike both Hirotaka and Yori made with the training swords as they came at him. He'd come a long way since he'd started, but he still had plenty to do. He'd lasted a few minutes against both of them, but that was because he was allowed to use some very basic magic. If they'd come at him and he didn't have if he knew he'd of lost already. He took the offensive against Hirotaka, charging magic and knocking him back with a charged hit from the pommel. He fell backwards and Ron felt good; a little payback for Jackson's expedition. He turned to block Yori's attacks as she covered her compatriot to make sure Ron didn't get any further blows to properly 'beat' him.

Ron ducked the last blow before retaliating, a slash aimed towards her legs. Yori sidestepped it and Ron brought the sword up towards her left arm, hitting it. Yori recoiled from the hit and moved to the side, forcing Ron to turn and defend as she counterattacked. She aimed for the joints, trying to keep him from fighting. It was a good strategy and it worked, Ron knew hundreds if not thousands of henchmen could attest to that at Kim's hands. He grunted as he took a hit to the shoulder before someone swept him from behind. Hirotaka had rejoined. Ron grunted as he landed on his back and rolled clear, coming back up as the two struck in unison again.

Breathing rapidly as his arms began to tire from the constant blows, Ron tried to stop the joint and now fully unified offensive, but he couldn't. Hirotaka struck on his right and high while Yori struck low and to the left, the two forcing Ron to ration his defense between them, making it easier for them to find openings.

Several blows hit him, knocking his sword away as he was knocked into the fence. The two pointed the wooden blades at him, then pulled them away as Ron put his hands in the air, admitting defeat. Yori offered a hand and pulled Ron to his feet.

"You did well with limited magic; your swordsmanship has greatly improved."

"Yeah," Ron said with a nod, "I'll probably be using magic, but it doesn't hurt to learn to use only limited amounts."

"Indeed," Sensei said as he came down from where he was watching, "You must always be prepared to fight without. A true warrior needs no weapon nor magic to win his battles." He nodded to the other two, the two giving a polite bow to Sensei before leaving. "Come, Stoppable-san, let us continue the final magical training. You must understand the art of mental assault. Magic users trained will attempt to get into your mind to predict your next move, particularly involving magic."

Ron nodded, "So how're we going to test it?"

"We will go through the technique first, and the reasoning. In the so-called 'western' style of magic, duels would often involve a concept of counter spelling. Counter spell is a technique in which a magic user disrupts magic mid cast."

Ron frowned, "I thought magic was you do it or you fail painfully."

"Counter spell, when used, causes the magical energy to rupture. When you destroyed the pylons channeling energy in the Magocracy lair, you created a reflex of energy that erupted in a very similar manner to how this technique works in effect. However, counter spell techniques are rarely fatal to the one counteracted, though it does cause injury." he calmly answered. "One of the requirements to do this is to have a presence in your opponent's mind. Once they are inside, they can find the link to magic you have and create a spike, a blockage, which results in the build up being turned against you. Even the mightiest blow can strike the aggressor."

"So I need to be resistant against guys breaking into my mind to keep them from doing that to me, right?"

Sensei nodded, "There are several techniques that are used. For some, pure focus creates a shield. For others, repeating something once they know they're attacked to craft a solid barrier of distraction for the intruder is their method. And yet some others chose to blank their minds, to think of nothing and detach themselves entirely."

He had a funny feeling that the last one he'd never be able to pull off, though it sounded unnervingly familiar as a tactic for stopping mental intrusion by magic. "How will I learn how?"

"I possess the talent to do so in calm circumstance, and will attempt to in order to train. Come, sit, we shall do it through meditation. Shield thoughts that you would like to remain private as best as you can, and try to warn me if I breach towards them. They are not my right to see."

"Thank you for respecting that, Sensei." He inhaled deeply, taking the calming breaths before nodding, "I'm ready."

Sensei and Ron were both in meditative positions on the ground when Ron felt the nudging feeling. He couldn't describe it, but it began to worm around, like someone was quietly and softly feeling around his skull. Ron focused, mentally reciting the stats for his character in _Everlot_ to create white noise like Sensei suggested. As he did so, the presence seemed to pause, as if trying to understand the sudden surge of activity before it lanced forward. Ron felt a sharp jab of pain like a migraine as images flashed up. Camp Wannaweep, random moments from his childhood, it was all random. Then it came to his talk to Rufus just before Junior Prom...

_"That's... private!"_ he meant to mentally say as he struggled, and the presence pulled back sharply. Ron stumbled backwards, shaking his head and pulling himself back up to a sitting position. Sensei was looking at him apologetically when Ron realized he'd said it out loud.

"I am sorry for that, but once inside I have little control of what can be seen."

"How... much did you see of that?"

"I saw your fear." Sensei closed his eyes, "It was not how I should have come to learn of them. But now I understand more of why one of the visions touched you so. But let us not speak more of it. Knowledge gained that was not meant to be, even in an accident of good will, should only be used in most dire of circumstance."

Ron nodded shakily, understanding the trust Sensei had. Still, the exact wording kept him uneasy.

XX

**Time Share Lair #404**

**Upperton, Colorado**

Dementor nodded as the prototype MMCD (Mass Mind Control Device) was unpacked, "Careful, careful, zhat thing is vorth more zhan ze lot of you!" he barked as four henchmen carried the crate off slowly as another helicopter came and landed Dementor's personalized halftrack. This halftrack, a amalgamation of his mad scientific genius, would be what he'd use to crush Kim Possible once and for all. Her springy-jump, self-healing super suit wouldn't stand a chance against it. Even if it survived the powerful mad-science powered weapons, the battle suit wouldn't save her if she was simply ran over, and the sapper turret he'd added would also drain her while she wore it. He smiled widely, it would be a fine, fine way to finally claim the victory so many villains sought. He, _Professor Dementor_, would be the killer of Kim Possible. Nothing would stand in his way now.

Global Justice was distracted, only spare forces available to help defend Middleton while the Keppler 2.5 was being found, and while certainly he'd heard word of the US military sending some form of commando to assist, he doubted it'd get there in time, and the US military's solutions to mad science were limited to hitting it with big guns... and Dementor's halftrack was shielded, using a plasma shield reverse engineered from Kim Possible's suit and scaled to vehicular size. PBD? He wasn't scared of them, they were just Global Justice lite, minus a dose of competence. The henchmen began to move off crates of automated turrets that Dementor had customized.

He turned to Myron and smiled, "Ah, villainy at its apex is most exciting, is it not, Myron?"

"Seems so. So this is the climax?"

"Yes. Here, tomorrow, we will go to Middleton, the turrets will be deployed to occupy Global Justice and any PBD response and force Possible to deal with them. Und even if she is able to respond to our efforts, she vill find zhat this halftrack shall be her doom!" his voice did not raise at all in his joy of the fine plan and he smiled widely, holding a fist in the air in a triumphal gesture, "Tomorrow, Professor Dementor shall... _be... VICTORIOUS!_" He inhaled, for _now_ his voice raised.

XX

**Possible Residence**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Wade nodded to Jim and Tim as they finished wiring the Sloth's new system. "Alright, it all concealed?"

Jim nodded, "Kim won't know..."

"...until we tell her." Tim finished.

"Alright. She won't be happy, but once she has to use it she'll probably appreciate it. We have everything ironed out? GJ knows what the Sloth's now packing and our safety limiters?"

The twins nodded. "Barring some major electrical surge," Tim began...

"...which won't happen thanks to all our extra backups..." Jim continued.

"... it should all be good." Tim finished.

"Sweet. Kim probably won't need it, but with Dementor running around with those halftracks, we never know."

XX

**Central Africa**

"The mercs here yet?" Shego asked Drakken as the two set up camp. A number of henchmen had accompanied them, though they were mostly to guard the camp site and their ride home than help with the break in to the GJ site.

"They'll be here tomorrow morning, we'll meet their leaders and give them the final lowdown of the move. Hench's associate promised quality, but I'm still skeptical. I mean, this is Hench. The only thing he provides in guarantee is prices and quantity. Quality is something I've questioned."

"You just won't pay for the 'Glamorous Elite' training level henchmen." she commented with a smirk, "Dementor does and they can at least threaten me or Kimmie... even if mildly."

Drakken shrugged, "Well, might as well get comfortable. GJ hasn't moved any of those new mechs of theirs in yet but that could change overnight and we'd never know."

Shego shrugged. If a working Diablo was a fun challenge for her, a weaker Telthor mech wouldn't be a threat at all. Still, she was uneasy heading back to the area she met Generalissimo, especially with her new view on things. She half expected him to say she squandered the chance.

XX

XX

XXX

**End Chapter:**

**-Rule of Thumb... mind what the heck I'm listening to when trying to write out this fic. That, or I need to stop getting into the Command and Conquer mentality when I'm chatting with the dudes I'm in a comp-and-keyboard C&C RP with...**

**-With school getting back into session, if I don't post within the usual 2 weeks assume it'll take an extra week or so to finish because of school. That, or I'm going to shorten the chapters rather than try to aim for 40 pages double spaced every chapter. I dunno, I'll need to take a look and see how much my time available changes.**

**- At first glance, most would say KP has a black and white morality as a series: Team Possible, GJ, etc. are good, while Drakken, Shego, Dementor, etc. are evil. But closer examination does reveal that there are quite actually a few shades of gray in both sides. For example, Wade chipping Ron without telling him. Yamanouchi is definitely in the 'grey' area, though a white shade of it. Good guys, but not afraid to get their hands dirty. Setting up the adoption for Hana probably have some skullduggery involved. **

**- Ron's mission was actually one I considered for a while... I wanted to show that Yamanouchi isn't all white in the white and black morality, but they're a white shade of gray. I knew from the get go that it would be at the very least slightly OOC for Ron no matter what, but it's part of what I hope to be some character development, let him mature a bit and lose some of his innocence... and it gave me an excuse for him to be a buffoon (which, TBH, I have to admit I could hardly write for some reason.)**

**- The new WEE toy, 'TECH'... well, it's something cool and is definitely one of the weird gadgets you'd see in KP, isn't it? Wrist mounted and has whatever you can slap onto it or are willing to slap onto it.**

**- As for the asteroid... well, here's a hint: It's connected. However, the rocket launch it now requires sets up the next chapter. The title for Chapter 18 was already decided: **_**Middleton Mayhem**_

**- As for actually using a nuclear warhead... this is likely to be the only time a nuke will be used in my writing following this, and it wasn't just Simms saying "Big rock in space? Nuke it." It was, as Simms explained, discussed and calmly concluded that a nuke was required for the situation and calmly prepared. For the asteroid size, I wasn't sure, but even the 5-10 meter ones come with enough speed to be comparable to the Little Boy, so 4 miles sounds scary enough. The theory was pretty simple: It's incoming, but a launch would, directionally, at least slow it down as it has to contend with the force of the explosion, though it wouldn't reverse it given it's had too much speed build up due to Newton's Third Law. (And **_**Sir Issac Newton is the Deadliest Son of a Bitch in Space!)**_

**- One trick with writing Jim and Tim is that they're twins... I always forget which one is which. :(**

**-=Document Recovery: TECH=-**

_Source: Global Justice Databanks_

File: JBO-07

_Subject:__ WEE 'TECH' Device_

_Gadgetry Type:__ Combat Harness and Wrist mount_

_Tech Rating:__ T-7_

_Current Predominant Users:__ Worldwide Evil Empire_

_Known Combat Abilities:__ 'Overload', Hacking interface, Incineration and cryogenic based blasts_

_Known Noncombat Abilities:__ Chronological tracking, Recreational Electronics_

_- The JBO-07 TECH is a new device being fielded by Gemini. TECH stands for "Technologically Enhanced Combat Harness", and is now in usage by WEE's engineers in the field to add to their abilities as combatants. It gives his engineers combat abilities superior to that of mainline soldiers so long as the engineers get the chance to deploy the equipment in their TECH. Gemini seems to have based its design off of his own cybernetics and it uses similar munitions and firing mechanisms, except mounting on a wrist gauntlet._

_- The known abilities of this device are wide and varied, and are theoretically limited to the imagination and technical skills of the user. Gemini has standardized by incineration and cryogenic based blasts to his engineers, but one of these was equipped with an electric charge that would disrupt an energy barrier or cause robotics to overload. This makes the tool an extremely powerful asset against vulnerable robotics such as synthodrones which are prone to destruction if overloaded even accidently and can cause issues in more advanced robotics such as the Lil Diablo robot._

_- The first recording of these was samples sent by Ron Stoppable received in the morning of August Third. Claiming to have found them on a WEE patrol, he sent it to Global Justice along with information on a WEE base in the form of their orders. GJ forces raided the small auxiliary facility and secured several other TECH prototypes in testing there._

_- Global Justice scientists are still dissecting the devices, but it's been concluded that reproduction of these would be relatively simple to do, but would cost, meaning they cannot be distributed to all. The required technical skill to use them for more advanced tactics is another limiter. The TECH is concluded to be vulnerable to sapper strikes, a single hit capable of nullifying it of being able to deploy any form of attack for a short period of time before it resets itself, though memory it stores is automatically loaded to a black box emergency storage to prevent data loss. Further tests are required, but the results are promising._


	18. Chapter 18: Middleton Mayhem

_"There are times when military professionals like CIA agents or US army infantry doubt me or dismiss me as an amateur who hasn't seen a real fight. Why do they do this? Because almost every villain uses lasers and energy weapons rather than lead bullets. They think lasers are nothing like actual lead, think they're just kid-friendly knockoffs or something like that. They definitely don't kill as easily since they hit you and burn rather than put a hole and lodge into your ribcage. Still, the 'professionals' changed their tune right quick when they actually had to face it or took a hit to the gut."_

- Kim Possible, reflecting on the actual danger of energy weapons in comparison to lead munitions, as recorded in her _Liber Memoriarum_

_"This recruits is a twenty kilo ferrous slug. __**Feel the weight!**__ Every five seconds, the main gun of an _Everest_-class dreadnaught accelerates one, to one-point-three percent of light speed. It impacts with the force of a thirty-eight kiloton bomb. That is __three__ times the yield of the city buster dropped on Hiroshima back on earth. This means: __**Sir Isaac Newton is the deadliest son-of-a-bitch in space**__!"_

- Gunnery Sergeant to a pair of cadets in Bioware's _Mass Effect 2_

**Chapter 18: Middleton Mayhem**

**August 4th, 2007**

**Central Africa**

Shego nodded to Drakken as the mercenaries moved to do their job. Hired through HenchCo, she knew they wouldn't last forever against Global Justice, even if it was just two dozen agents guarding the site. There weren't any _Specter_ operatives and none of their hazard soldiers or _Telthor_ mechs. It was a small operation relying on not getting spotted and attacked rather than sturdy defense. They weren't expecting her. _And they're probably smart in that, no smart thief hits the same place twice without really, really, _really_ good reason to do it._ They waited in cover, the two of them ready to slip through the defensive net once GJ played its cards.

With a sudden _pew_ of shock staves, the mercenaries began their attack on Global Justice's defenders. A sleepy sentry shouted and grabbed his GJA-13 before he caught a blast to the chest and collapsed. The mercenaries, all wearing HenchCo purple, started coming out of the tree line and advanced to cover to engage GJ from. She watched as the fight joined, a few on both sides dropping from the blue energy blasts flying both ways. The mercenaries were doing their job and the GJ team had reacted. It was time to go.

Shego and Drakken stayed behind the tree line, looping around the long way to the now-exposed flank. The GJ agents, realizing the entire attack was coming from one direction, moved to respond. This was their chance, and the two moved across, using the ferns and tents of the GJ agents as cover as they slipped into the actual temple itself. They reached it without a problem as no GJ agent turned to attack. Inside was archeological equipment left in place as the archeology trained agents had hurried outside to defend. Drakken glanced at her.

"What is it?" she asked

"So what is this place? This looks like one of Monkey Fist's..."

"Dumb plots? Seemed to be like that to me."

She looked towards the main pedestal in the middle and started walking up. As she did so, an energy barrier was erected at the door. Both she and Drakken whirled around, looking at the orange energy field that swirled into a black vortex at its center. They were trapped inside now, as Drakken had shot one of the flowers at the barrier and it hit and vaporized instantly, the burned flower head pulling back towards Drakken.

_"Welcome back..."_ said a familiar voice and the two turned, another orange whirlwind like portal opening as 'Generalissimo' stepped out.

"Wait... _you're_ this Generalissimo fellow I've heard so much about?" Drakken said in surprise, "You don't look like much, and the entrance could use some work. Bit too theatrical."

"Says a supervillain," Generalissimo retorted with a smile, "But you came for a reason, didn't you?"

Shego and Drakken looked at each other, Shego feeling a sensation that she'd only felt a few times before. The most well known moment was when she turned from hero to villain. It was going to be one of those choices.

"I did," she answered, "You're right. GJ's not keeping an eye on things and is getting wrapped up in its rivalry with WEE and everyone else seems to be looking to settle their grudges before things really fall apart. That alternate future you showed?" she glanced at Drakken, "Can you show him?"

Drakken gave her a confused look before he presumably realized she meant show Drakken that alternate future. "Is this going to damage the space-time continuum or something?"

Shego shrugged. Time travel was too confusing to her, all she needed to know was that it was only a temporary thing and the timeline removed the interference by basically hitting a reset button. "Don't think so, it's just like seeing a tape on it. Except a little more free wandering."

Generalissimo chimed in, "Indeed. Time rectifies itself. Manipulation is permitted, but when done time always prepares its own rectification. Subtle energies in the usage of high magic or technologies change."

Drakken nodded, "I'd like to talk with you for a while... this is a very interesting subject, considering even mad science labels chronological manipulation and displacement to be one of those things that can't be done."

"Perhaps later, for now you should accomplish what was set to be done." Generalissimo said before nodding an activating a portal on the pedestal. Drakken blinked, jaw dropping in awe as he looked at the portal.

"Step forward," Generalissimo said as he gestured to Drakken, "It will be instantaneous... to those not with us, that is."

Drakken slowly stepped into the portal and disappeared, followed by Generalissimo.

XXX

**Middleton, Colorado**

_Beep beep be-beep._

"What's the sitch, Wade?" Kim asked, wearing her mission gear as she went down to the garage. She was to be driving the Sloth the Tweebs were already inside, insisting on coming along to test some new 'toys' they'd installed.

_"Kim, General Simms says that you'll be rendezvousing with a SEAL that he's brought to assist the operation. No armor support, no time to transfer it, but Doctor Director has gotten some Telthor mechs out."_ Wade explained. _"You'll meet the group at the Space Center."_

"Middleton isn't used to militarization," Kim pointed out with a sigh as she got in, nodding to the Tweebs. "Going to be rough for a bit, isn't it?"

"Better than being hit with an asteroid," Tim commented.

"Yeah," Jim affirmed, "Besides, it's just temporary. Villains." The two nodded to each other, shaking their heads in disgust of villainous activity. Kim started the car and drove out as the twins started discussing something as she talked to Wade, going over what was known. Dementor had several half tracks and a few helicopters capable of airdropping laser turrets with some form of adhesive to stick on the ground. The good news was more predicted sites of engagement were outside of the city, but they were prepared for Dementor to attempt to make moves in the city. The key to the operation was the Space Center Prototype Facility, which was just outside. The Kepler 2.5 was stored there and being prepared for transfer. Unfortunately, it wouldn't take much time for Dementor to load his satellite onto the rocket and launch it into orbit, though he'd need to get fuel there. Her dad mentioned the Space Center had a few 'back ups' planned in case it got that far but didn't give her the details.

As they drove, Kim finally asked; "So what's the new toys you installed?"

"Oh, nothing much." Jim said innocently.

"Just a few emergency systems." Tim added.

"What kind of 'emergency systems'?" she asked quizzically, knowing well by now that they had some plans for the Sloth that she didn't quite agree with.

"What we're here to keep running," Tim counterpointed and Jim nodded in agreement. This caused Kim to sigh in annoyance, when the Tweebs wouldn't spill something they never spilled.

"Wade, what's the sitch on this SEAL being assigned to the mission? I thought they worked in teams." Kim asked, deciding to change the subject.

_"I haven't been provided with much, but Simms did give me his call sign, Whisky Foxtrot, and that he's alone from the fact the rest of his team was wounded and still mission killed from the lorwardian attack."_ Wade explained, _"Simms hasn't revealed much, besides this, but I did glean this: He's part of some project specializing against what we know of aliens. Think Commander Shepard on steroids."_

"Kim would make a pretty cool paragon Shep," Tim blurted out, electing an odd look from Kim as Jim added "Hoosha!"

"Shepard?" Kim asked in confusion.

Wade paused, then shook his head. _"Erm, basically this guy's a bona-fide badass who could probably shoot you and not have a second thought and would give you a run for your money in hand-to-hand."_

"That's better, Wade. Really," she said with sarcasm in amusement at the implication, "But it'll be interesting to work with one." She knew well what kind of badass it took to be a SEAL and never underestimated them.

They turned to the Space Center and Kim parked, a GJ agent nodding to her as she got out of the car. "Stay here," she told the Tweebs and walked inside, where she went to a small briefing room in one of the normally unused rooms of the Space Center. Inside was General Simms, who was discussing with Doctor Director over a map with several GJ and Area 51 officers, including General Simms' main colonel, Barras.

"Sir," Barras said as Kim walked in, "Miss Possible is here."

"Good," Simms said with a nod and gestured to a man clad in full combat gear carrying a GJA-15. "This is Whisky Foxtrot, call sign for the SEAL assigned to Project Rho." He gave a brief but sad smile, "Classified, but it's not related to this."

"Why bring him out then, General?" Kim asked, "If the project isn't related to this, I mean."

"These are the situations I'm typically called for, given what Project Rho aims to eventually create." the SEAL said with a nod. "You can refer to me as Foxtrot for short, Miss Possible."

She nodded, "Just call me Kim, then. Lot easier that way." she looked back towards Simms. "So, what's the sitch?"

Doctor Director took the helm, "We've detected Dementor's henchmen beginning to move through Middleton. They've not been active, but they are raising concerns. MPD is already tracking them, but we're allowing them to move for now as to discover what they are up to. We suspect Dementor is using them to scout for the moment to see what we are up to. He will have noticed the sudden increase in both GJ presence and General Simms' team."

"So expect Dementor to be coming in prepared," Barras added, "He'll likely use HTD's, High Tech Devices, if he suspects that we have more."

"Define HTD," Kim asked.

"Doomsday devices, the type usually destroyed prior to firing." Barras explained. "We suspect Dementor has at least one of those available to him in addition to his MMCD in the event of too strong a GJ presence."

Doctor Director nodded, "This means even if available from other tasks, reinforcements won't be coming. The GJ forces present are for the most part from our headquarters reserve." When Kim didn't respond, she added: "They're green and haven't seen action. Experienced agents are needed to counter WEE, leaving our reserves more questionable."

"Ah," Kim answered with a nod. That didn't fill her with confidence. "So where do me and Foxtrot here come in?"

"You two are our Delta-Omega-Fours." Simms explained. When Kim again didn't answer, he added, "You're our aces in the hole. Whisky Foxtrot has completed both SEAL and Specter training, and your natural talents and experiences put you within in the same range of combat efficiency. Both of you should be sufficient to surprise Dementor... he knows you're here, Miss Possible, but he will not be expecting a SEAL."

"Where do you want us, then?"

"For now you two are in reserve. Be ready to move at a moment's notice, however."

Kim nodded, "Yes sir."

Simms smiled faintly, "There's some more good news, a Predator UAV is en route. But until then, this is an Omega-Seven battle plan: No knowledge of when the enemy will make the move but we must stop them when they begin at all costs to prevent potential extinction of humanity by aftereffects of failure. You all know what's at stake, and you will do what's needed when the times comes." he nodded, "Dismissed."

As Kim got up to leave, Simms held her back and talked to her in the corner. "You're not aware of it yet, Miss Possible, but my call sign is _Sandworm-Actual_ for this operation. You know yours, I presume."

Kim nodded, "Cheerleader-One is the one I usually use when GJ insists on code."

Simms shook his head, "Too closely connected. It works for GJ's generally low communications blocks, but when you're involved it becomes too easy to figure out." His lips formed a slant as he thought, "No time for a new one, but when this is over a new one is something to think about."

XXX

XXX

XXX

Drakken landed easily as he came out of the portal in the alternative future. He wasn't sure how time travel worked, but upon landing it didn't take him long to deduce that it was in fact an alternate timeline. First of all, it was way too complex for even most simulators to handle, too many variables. Second...

"This would be the Supreme One's palace," Generalissimo said as he gestured to the tall, foreboding spire as they passed the Bueno Nacho building, still intact amazingly enough. They were invisible to the few people out at this time of the timeline. The green sky sent a shiver up his spine. It meant that the victory was so complete even the _environment_ was changing to suit the new rule. He always anticipated something like that when he won, but he always assumed it'd just be gray skies more frequently. "From here, she ruled in this timeline and the planet was doomed. Even the resident resistance forces aren't able to..." he glanced around, "In fact, I think you'll soon be able to see just how secure her rule was until the timeline was unraveled."

Drakken blinked, "That's not exactly what I'm really interested in. I want to see what her rule _did_. To me, to others... actually, what happens to Possible in this timeline?"

He shrugged, "Technically, she was never around as she started gallivanting across the time stream thanks to the Resistance before Shego took over. Perhaps how she did so in the first place? Kim never returned to the present, you see, skipping straight to the future with the intent to go on the offensive. Could she have turned the tide? I doubt it, but given the Resistance better strength? Most certainly, as she was an icon. Shego was able to play it in this timeline, play her absence to demoralize opposition until she could establish her mind control across the planet. You wouldn't be amazed what an evil think tank could provide, I suspect, but others would be." He gestured along, "But I think you would prefer _show_ rather than _tell._"

"Yes, show would be good..."

They walked through the streets, Drakken feeling uneasy as people walked by glumly in green and black, tired and subdued as they moved to their toils. He walked by a building labeled _Club Shego_, eying it curiously as he passed, a large blimp-like drone humming by with its searchlight looking for what he presumed was Resistance. "Bit more along the lines of club ego, but I probably shouldn't be talking." he commented as he turned away, remembering good old _Drakanada_.

"Would you like to see a mind control center, an _Attitude Adjustment Center_, in this timeline?"

"Oh, yes, I do like seeing mind control in action." Drakken answered, a faint smile. Even if it was 'gone', it was still a good chance to see what could theoretically happen (or had, in an unusual usage of the term). This was something which could even springboard his own research.

They continued walking along, security drones buzzing by idly and not noticing them despite the two not wearing Shego's colors. _Of course, being invisible to the timeline and just observers probably has something to do with it,_ Drakken thought. He understood this. It was definitely pushing most of his knowledge, but he could get it into his head without it hurting. Much. As they turned the corner he recognized the building immediately. He'd scanned for her there and had chased her there a few times. Middleton High School...

Or rather, the Middleton Attitude Adjustment Center. The sign reading _Obey the Supreme One_ as drones flew to and from, a carryall transport of sorts landing a group of prisoners to be processed through. Drakken walked into the building, watching the glum victims walking into a classroom. "That's right, file in... fill all the seats!" came a smug woman's voice. Drakken walked in, watching as she introduced herself. "I'm Bonnie Rockwaller."

_That name sounds familiar,_ he mused with a shrug as he watched. It had some of the low tech forcing people to watch propaganda videos, and scans to see who was resisting, those who did being given 'obedience collars', shocking them for their resistance. One video, however, caught his attention. It's title? _The Supreme One and You_. Drakken's jaw dropped as he saw his alternate self, wearing one of the said obedience collars.

_"The Supreme One started with a simple dream, to rule the world..."_ his alternate-self began before adding; "_Of course, it was my dream first-"_ he was cut off with a loud scream as the collar zapped him.

_"Okay, eyes on me..."_ Shego said, an arrogant personality coming across as Drakken watched it. _Maybe she can be a true villain rather than just a sidekick..._ he thought in the back of his mind. The movie continued to play as he glanced to Generalissimo; "What about technology labs? I'm very interested in that."

He gestured along in a briefly exaggerated hand motion, "This way."

They went to a nearby lab, one that was producing advanced robotic hardware. Drakken could see the _Destructobots_ and other large villainous robotics coming out an assembly line and being loaded onto cargo transports. They walked into the doors (literally, as they passed through solid doorways as they were just 'observers' of the time stream) to find many high tech machines are work making more weapons of evil. He felt giddy knowing that indeed, with the right stimulus powerful factories like that were possible. He'd tried to make them before, but had failed almost every time (if only because the damn cheerleader kept blowing them up). He looked around, some workers dully checking machinery.

Drakken dropped his jaw as he saw the wheelchair bound kid who'd thwarted him and his cousin's plans for a _Doom-Vee_ being forced to work. Then he smiled, enjoying the delicious irony as the advanced cyber robotics of the wheelchair were turned towards eviler purpose, as was fitting. Irony was something he enjoyed.

XXX

**Middleton, Colorado**

_"Kim,"_ Wade said, _"I got a lock on Dementor's henchmen. It's all scouting parties, I've pinpointed a communications officer who's coordinating the search. Take him out and that should hamper Dementor."_

"Send me the coordinates, Wade, I'm on it."

Wade sent her the coordinates and she turned the car in the appropriate direction under the evening sky, "Foxtrot, you got this?"

_"Ten-four. I'm going to go in after one of these scouts with a buncha explosives who's moving towards the city power plant, tango may be trying to disrupt power."_ Foxtrot said. Then General Simms came on the line;

_"Foxtrot, this is Sandworm-Actual, get Oscar-Mike to the power plant and intercept that scout. GJ recon confirms he's an explosive expert and likely has other henchmen moving towards the city power by another route."_

_"Affirmative Sandworm-Actual, Foxtrot is Oscar-Mike."_

_"Cheerleader-One, chase down the communications officer and capture him, interrogate him. Sandworm-Actual out."_

"So who's Sandworm?" Jim asked. The two didn't know that Simms was in charge of Area 51.

"Some military leader who works with GJ," Kim said uncomfortably. She didn't like lying, but she knew that the trust of what Area 51 was, even if it used a double bluff, was something to be taken seriously. The Tweebs caught on, though.

"There's more to it..." Tim said in a sing-song way with a wide smile.

"Come on, we can keep a secret." Jim added in his effort to persuade her.

_If they try to PDP I'm going to stop and boot them out right now..._ Kim thought as she looked for that henchman with the communications gear. She really needed to change this conversation before they started badgering her too much.

"Keep an eye out for that henchman, you two." Kim ordered, "This is important."

"Alright, sheesh, just another end of the world. What's for dinner?" Tim commented before blinking. "Uh, Kim..." he said as he tapped her shoulder.

"He's over there," Jim explained as Kim glanced over. Nodding, Kim quickly brought the Sloth in to park and got out, leaping over the car and hitting him from behind. The henchman shouted as he was knocked into the wall of a store, rebounding and stumbling backwards.

"Oh it's on!" he shouted as he swung a punch, which Kim deftly dodged before leg sweeping him. He leapt over her legs and landed as she came up and around. He took the opening to hit her, knocking her backwards. She quickly leapt up as he attempted to follow that move up with a punch and she grabbed his extended arm, hurling him into the wall with a loud crash. She followed up and hit him several more times, knocking him unconscious. Kim nodded as his head hung limply and called Wade.

"Wade, I took out the com officer. We can pick him up for interrogation."

_"Did you search him yet?"_

"About to," Kim said as she started rifling through his pockets. She felt something and pulled it out. A handheld holographic display. She turned it on, it was a prerecorded message from Dementor, a full briefing.

"Wade... I got it." Kim said with a smile, "Uploading the briefing to you now."

_"Nice catch Kim! Foxtrot just dealt with the scouts. We may have a few minor power fluctuations briefly because of a few 'nades going off at the wrong place, but the henchmen there didn't stand a chance... alright Kim, it looks like Dementor is planning on activating a bunch of laser turrets across the city to occupy any defenders and cause a lot of terror and confusion."_

She winced, that _would_ do the trick, but Middleton shook these things off regularly. It'd only be temporary at most... _but temporary is all he needs._ "Alright, I'll get ready for some turret busting."

_"Take the Sloth." _Wade suggested.

"I need room to break open those turrets, and the Sloth is a pretty big target in the streets." Kim countered as she walked back to the Sloth and opened the door. Wade transferred to its main screen.

_"There's been some... upgrades. Jim, Tim?"_

"We've added some defenses..." Tim began, smiling.

"Light Amplification by Simulated Emission of Radiation." Jim answered in a brief bit of techno babble. Or what would be techno babble to the unaware. Kim was glad she wasn't driving as she would have slammed on the brakes in shock.

_"You WHAT?_" she asked.

"Easy, there's a power regulator! It only goes to stun!" Jim shouted.

"It won't actually hurt anyone!" Tim finished, "And it's locked ten times over!"

Kim stopped as she glared at Wade, "You know about this, Wade?"

_"I helped design it. Besides Kim, this is the best time to use it. The turrets won't take a single hit, and with one of the twins making sure it locks on properly it'll be fine." _Wade explained confidently, though the look in his eyes told her that he knew she wouldn't approve. Sighing, Kim admitted to herself that, just this once, the two may of been right. _Besides,_ she silently added, _It's no worse than the rockets the Tweebs occasionally install for wall breaching._

"Alright, fine." Kim said, irritated. "But don't pull the trigger without telling me, alright?"

XXX

XXX

XXX

Drakken watched as the 'main event' began. It was a sight to behold, he'd seen tapes of the escapades between himself and Team Possible before, and thought they were amazing to watch if not experience... but now he truly got to appreciate the finesse of the battles.

The team of Resistance commandos moved up, their air support having been blasted as it flew in. Although they got several rail gun blasts down taking out the larger defensive turrets, the palace's anti-air had opened up. The ground based wasn't a problem for the aircraft, but the palace itself was equipped with a lightning defense of sorts, and like a bug zapper the green electricity shot out and blew the aircraft into so much scrap. It didn't deter the Resistance members on the ground though.

As they advanced on the gate, Drakken got a better look. The three key members were easy for him to figure out who they were future versions of. One, a large African American, was clearly Kim Possible's old computer aide as he hacked the gate open in seconds, and the two twins wore the same colors as the two who'd destroyed his neural compliance chip plans four years ago with their _**portable**_ silicon phase disruptor. The three were all carrying laser rifles of some sort. There were a few other members of the attack that Drakken didn't recognize, but he did try to remember who they were. They'd probably become the core of whatever resistance came after he succeeded.  
The first female of the group was a brunette who looked familiar, having a faint family resemblance to Kim. He wasn't sure, but the cowboy hat she wore made him suspect she was related as he recalled the Crooked D incident. She was in gray armor of the same material as the twins, in fact, the entire team was in similar armor for the most part. Hers was customized to be form fitting and there was some harness over it, and carried what looked to Drakken like a rifle eerily similar to Global Justice's GJA-15. She activated a wrist device and a blue holographic interface came up on it as she leaned out of cover and shot a shielded Destructobot advancing on the team with an energy bolt from the gauntlet. It hit the bot and disabled its shields, leaving it open to a wave of shuriken like discs from another member of the team.

This member of the team who hurled the discs was a woman, with black hair and of a dark skin color, wearing purple cargo pants and midriff baring sleeveless top, a small gold-colored band around her right arm and a holster of sorts of yellow color on her left leg, from which she'd drawn the discs. Her face was obscured by a ski mask she wore, leaving her hair visible in two small tufts from the side. Her main weapon of choice, however, was a heavy and boxy gun of purple color which fired energy blasts of a translucent color, which seemed to rip the shielding of other Destructobots advancing in easily as the future versions of the Possible twins and the geek tore apart the defensive lasers from cover, taking a few slight burns from the return fire.

A swarm of the security drones sped in from around in response to the ground team's attack, blasting large amounts of energy rounds down. The commando team took several hits, but quickly recovered thanks to the aid of a blond woman wearing gray armor over a white battle suit. She hurried up to the cowgirl, who had taken a nasty chest wound from a lucky shot, and with a glowing white hand quickly healed the wound with some form of superpower, leaving Drakken stunned as he saw it. He'd seen superpowers before, but this was amazing. Save for scorch marks leftover on the armor, the cowgirl was fully restored and back to fighting. The female medic raised a combat shield that she had on her left arm to block several blasts that were incoming. A blade trooper drone sped in to tear her apart, but a sudden _bang_ and a visible laser beam flared across the battlefield. Drakken looked to the source of the sniper, who was crouching at the top of the Bueno Nacho. Drakken was able to see a calm and collected man.

He was a partial blond, but looked like an older and haunted version of the boy Kim had been dating when he tried to embarrass her out of existence. Wearing even lighter armor than most of the team, he was practically in civilian clothes save a light vest he wore for protection as he reloaded his sniper rifle and started picking off more incoming blade trooper robots and synthodrone infantry. He didn't seem to show any emotion, but he was definitely concerned as he kept whispering things into the radio, situation updates, warnings, the works.

The commando team was making decent progress, but had been ground to a halt even with reinforcements moving in on other sides of the palace, non-commandos with a little more conventional weapons... for the future, at least. Plasma rifles and advanced body armor, they didn't fare nearly as well as the commandos as synthodrones with shock staves moved up, taking heavy losses but still proving superior by numbers as Destructobots were shot at with heavier plasma weapons, shoulder-mounted launchers. A launcher blast took a Destructobot out in one hit and caused it to capsize, but there was still eleven more advancing on the distraction team. Drakken didn't see any more faces he'd recognize.

Turning his attention to the commandos, they'd been ground to a halt entirely, and the sniper fire had ceased as a security drone had tagged the sniper and blasted him off his sniper's perch before he was able to get clear, leaving him to land with a sickening crunch. The medic shouted in horror and sprinted over, exposing herself and through that allowed a laser turret to vaporize her, and several other turrets followed up, leaving only small, smoking bits behind where she once was. The other five commandos whirled around in shock as the defenders reacted, the distraction force being beaten back. It was quickly becoming a rout, then the cowgirl took a hit as they tried to pull back, going down and being captured by one of the flying security drones with a net. The commandos remaining tried to rescue her, but they were forced back and repelled.

As they retreated, a large group of synthodrones moved up. The survivors nodded to each other and sprinted past the empty Bueno Nacho. The synthodrones followed, as did a large number of Destructobots. The commandos were clear when it happened. The pursuing forces were right next to the Bueno Nacho when it exploded all of a sudden. Drakken's jaw dropped as he saw the entire force taken out in an explosion sonic energy mixed in with electric charges sparking out, the entire pursuit force demolished and smoke billowed across the entire area.

"I think you've seen enough. Those were the best forces of the Resistance at the time... and they failed, and lost most of their fighting force trying." Generalissimo said, "It is time to return to the _actual_ timeline."

Drakken nodded. He'd seen enough to make his decision in how he'd stand if Shego would try to take over the world.

XX

**Middleton, Colorado**

"_This is Falcon 3-1, holy fucking shit where did these turrets come from!"_

_"Falcon 3-1 this is Falcon Actual, what's your status, over?"_

_"Fucking turrets came outta no where! What the shi-"_ static cut it off as Falcon Actual sighed.

_"Falcon 3-7, get down to the overpass and take out those turrets! We have confirmation of enemy units moving up."_

"Copy that," Falcon 3-7 said as he put his _Telthor_ mech in motion. A squad of GJ agents was with the mech as they started moving. They weren't too far from the overpass and had heard the shouts without their radios. "Keep it moving, team!" he ordered as they came into sight. And he saw it: a laser turret and four downed GJ agents lying around it. _The turret must have been air dropped,_ Falcon 3-7 concluded as he spun up the mech's energy mini guns and opened fire on the turret. The turret had already turned and was opening fire at him, the energy bolts hitting his mech and shaking him. The guns had spun up and he spat a volume of stun energy into the turret, causing it to overload and explode with the rest of the GJ agents firing into it. The other agents checked the down GJ agents... all dead.

"Falcon Actual, Falcon 3-7, turret neutralized. Falcon 3-1 is dead, however." He glanced at his scanner. "Hostile half-track inbound on our position."

_"Falcon Actual copies all. Stop that half-track."_

"Understood. Falcon 3-7 out." He stopped then passed the orders along. The agents took cover on the side of the overpass as the halftrack came down. It spotted them and opened fire, powerful energy blasts capable of taking chunks out of the overpass speeding out. One hit the left gun of his mech at the joint and blew it off as he spun the guns up. _Shit!_ he thought as he was shaken by the impact. The halftrack crashed straight into his mech, toppling him backwards as the other agents hurled their grenades onto the top of the now-stopped roofed halftrack. The grenades detonated off the roof armor, scorching it but otherwise not harming it and the halftrack opened fire on the agents, catching them with heavy blasts as they struggled to get to cover. He grunted as a henchman in gold heavy armor leapt out of the halftrack with a laugh, walking over to the mech and ripping the hatch open, pulling him out as he tried to struggle and hurling him into the overpass, knocking him out.

XX

"Too easy!" Dementor shouted as they kept driving, the destroyed mech being pushed aside. "Come, Dominations three, four, und five, to ze Middleton Institute of Science und Technology!"

They took off down the road as the other laser turrets being air dropped by Dementor's black helicopters began to pin down and attack GJ agents while a few other half-tracks were escorting an armored car carrying his MMCD (built from schematics provided by Jack Hench) towards the Space Center. Three other half tracks had come from their mayhem to join him. The forces lying in wait in reserve had a large number of synthodrones to breach the Space Center and arm the Kepler with the new device, waiting to deploy as it got closer. They'd be more than enough to overrun the area and take the Kepler, and as long as the rocket wasn't difficult to fuel up he'd be able to have it in space quickly before GJ or Kim Possible could react in tandem. After that, it became a question of who was faster: The rocket, or the military's anti-missile defenses.

"Myron, ze status of the hero-thief?"

"She's busy with road rage trying to take out the turrets."

"Good," Dementor said with a near psychotic smirk, "Middleton Mayhem."

XX

Kim swerved the Sloth out of the way as the turret began to open fire at her. The Tweebs shouted "whoooaaaaa!" as she made the tight turn, a blast hitting the side of the car and being absorbed by the armor and damage resistant paint that Wade and the Tweebs devised. Kim aimed the front of the Sloth and Tim activated it.

A pair of green bolts of energy sped from just under the front lights of the Sloth and sped towards the turret, hitting it square at base. The turret had an internal explosion which blew small pieces of it away and the nozzle it fired from came out, smoke radiating from the wreck. Kim looked at the carnage and reminded herself that the turret was set to kill and what she was using was set to stun. And that the turret was just a machine, a disposal tool. It didn't, nor should it, matter if it survived or not to her.

"Hoosha!" Jim said to congratulate his twin as Kim glanced at the map, moving onto the next turret. The Sloth's new system was well done, she had to admit as the second turret was taken out before it could blast a team of GJ agents. With her behind the wheel of the Sloth and the Tweebs' using the laser-whatever's, it gave the phrase 'women drivers' a whole new subtext.

"Turret on the left!" Tim warned as Kim saw it next to the Bueno Nacho in the parking lot. The turret opened fire and it hit the Sloth next to the trunk, shaking the entire car as Kim grunted from hitting her head on the seat. She turned the car with the blow and pointed the nose towards the turret, and Tim hit the trigger. The two lasers hit the turret and disabled it, a small explosion coming from its overloaded circuits. The Sloth came to a halt and briefly shuddered.

"Everyone alright?" Kim asked.

"_Fine_!" the Tweebs answered together, catching their breath.

"Least it's armored," Tim said with a smile as he tapped the door.

"And zap resistant!" Jim added.

Kim dialed Wade; "Sitch update Wade."

_"You're doing good; a group of GJ agents have pinned down one of Dementor's half tracks with a well placed AT4 rocket launcher shot and are taking down the henchmen. Non-lethally, of course."_

Kim nodded. This was feeling too easy, even if all the turrets weren't gone yet. "Keep me posted on the sitch as it develops, Wade."

_"You got it, Kim. Next turret is near the high school... Barkin's pretty ticked off."_

Kim turned and put the car into gear. Most of the traffic had stopped for the day once the crazy started. After a number of years, Middleton residents had learned when to get out of the streets and when they could just stay out of the way while doing their everyday activities. And that was a good thing in Kim's mind as she knew that having to deal with innocents in the way would just make everything that much worse.

XXX

**Middleton Institute of Science and Technology**

"Breaching door!" a grenadier specialist henchman shouted as he planted the breaching charge on the door. It wasn't a conventional breaching charge, but one of Dementor's own devising and non-explosive. They needed from within the center prototypical AI... alien AI that had been recently cracked and undergoing testing and confirmation of data by Doctor Freeman. An AI he would easily adapt to control his MMCD once it was in orbit to help it avoid anti-satellite attacks.

The breaching charge activated, disintegrating the door cleanly and efficiently. The PBD security officers within were reacting, bringing their GJA-13's to bear against the intruders but the _Balmung_ armored henchmen charged in first, closing the distance and taking the soldiers down quickly. Dementor followed inside with the other henchmen, leading them to the lab in question. They breached the lab door, the African American robotics specialist looking at them confusedly for a moment before shouting "Hey, get outta here!"

_"On it!"_ said a robotic voice and Dementor turned to see a blender swirling up its milky contents and shooting them at Dementor. He was stunned by the surprising blow and all sorts of lab equipment began to seemingly come to life, slathering and splashing the henchmen with a wide array of beakers and other such liquids. The henchmen shouted in pain as the doctor hurried to the back of the lab. Dementor attempted to get up but dropped straight down a red laser round shot over his head. _That was close,_ he thought as he crawled forward as henchmen struggled trying to smash the violent lab equipment. He crawled towards where Doctor Freeman was hurrying to, knowing that in there was the alien technology.

"Gotcha!" Dementor shouted as he grabbed Freeman's leg as he opened the door. Freeman fell forward and tried to kick Dementor in the head, but his helmet protected him. He was still slightly disoriented from the blow, but the helmet took most of it and Freeman shouted in pain as his foot likely hurt from hitting the metal helmet. Dementor grinned and pulled himself upwards, knocking the doctor unconscious by stomping him in the face and walked into the opened back room. He smiled as he found the module and grabbed it, hurrying out as the henchmen finished dealing with the robotics. Most of them were injured, but they hurried out after Dementor and got back onto the halftracks.

XXX

**Five Minutes Later**

**Littleton Outskirts**

Foxtrot smirked as he found the time share lairs and quietly cut the wire fence open and slipping inside, alone and unsupported.

"Foxtrot to Sandworm-Actual, I'm in."

_"Sandworm-Actual copies all. Proceed with mission. UAV will arrive in ten minutes."_

"Yes sir." he answered as he hung up and moved forward quietly. He couldn't wait for some damn UAV support as he observed the target time share lair. Two henchmen were comparing shock staves. For what reason he didn't know, but he aimed for them and took the shots. The GJA rounds sped into the henchmen, stunning them as the two collapsed and he moved to the lair itself, placing C4 charges around the building strategically to bring it down before entering the building itself. Several synthodrones attempted to stop him, but he easily took them out with his knife as the first one had managed to knock his rifle away.

Another synthodrone charged up behind him and he whirled around, stabbing it in the chest with his knife held in a reverse grip as he turned to deal with one last drone, slashing it at the neck and nearly decapitating the drone. Covered now in synthogoo, he grabbed his rifle and moved up to the data terminal in the lair and plugged a USB flash drive into it, downloading the computer's files. He glanced around and saw the door opening, and raised his rifle at the door.

In stormed several henchmen with shock staves who dived for cover as Foxtrot opened fire. He caught the first henchman in, but the others had gotten into cover and were opening fire with shock staves. The energy bolts sped by Foxtrot as he took cover behind a chest of laundry he kicked open, rising to take a volley of shots at his attackers.

He grunted as he ducked down as one blast hit the ceiling and shot sparks down over him. One of the henchmen shouted to move up and another sprang from cover. Foxtrot unpinned a flash bang grenade and tossed it over, blinding the entire squad of henchmen. He rose and shot the one in the open twice in the gut. There were only three left; a grenadier and two with regular equipment. The grenadier threw a grenade over and it landed next to him. He leapt clear before it detonated, the miniature explosive detonating. The henchmen took the chance to spring forward, the grenadier hanging back and hurling a grenade into the sides of the lair, forcing Foxtrot towards the two charging into close range. He switched to the GJA's shotgun mode and used the last blast in the cell to take one of the henchmen out. The second henchman got in close and knocked the rifle away, but SEAL hand to hand training kicked in and the henchman went down with a groin attack, a head butt, and a knife in the ribcage. The henchman collapsed and the grenadier threw a grenade straight at him.

Foxtrot dived out of the way as the roof opened, a helicopter hovering over and ropes coming down, henchmen rappelling down. Grabbing the rifle and looking at the file, he saw it had finished and pulled the flash drive out. Stuffing it into his pocket, he ran out and pulled a detonator out as the henchmen landed and began to give chase. There were at least a dozen in the lair and more hurrying to follow.

"HALT!" shouted a henchman who'd shown up in front of him with a jet pack and wearing orange, two other henchmen standing in front and pointing shock staves at him. The detonator was in his hand still as he put his hands in the air, the GJA-15 clattering at his feet. "You're coming with us! And what's that in your hand?"

"A lil' C4 knockin' on your door," he answered as he pressed the detonator. The lair exploded into a conflagration, the three henchmen diving for cover as Foxtrot dropped the detonator and grabbed his rifle, sprinting away as he could hear the shouts of pain in the afternoon as he entered the woods, mission accomplished.

XXX

**Central Africa**

Shego looked up as Drakken came out of the portal not a second after he'd entered. _Time travel _is_ fast,_ she thought with amusement. Drakken came out somewhat stricken, but walked down and looked at her.

"Shego... you serious about taking up this guy's conquer the world plot?" he asked.

Shego considered one last time. She remembered the first time she'd made a choice like this... the choice to go villain. But for some reason, it was easier now. A faint chill went down her spine as she gave her answer. "Not quite how it was in that timeline, but yes. I'm thinking of making my own scheme, finally."

Drakken nodded slowly, and Shego wondered if she didn't just sever one of the only real friendships she had, even if the friendship was often filled with mockery. _Please tell me he isn't going to turn on me because of it,_ she thought. She liked Drakken, and while she found him annoying she didn't think it was worth it to backstab him like she did in the alternate timeline.

"Well, Shego," Drakken said with a smile suddenly, "If we're going to beat the cheerleader and her buffoon, we'd better get to work, shouldn't we?"

Shego smiled as Drakken extended his hand and the two shook. "Equal partners, doc. Equal partners." She paused a beat before adding, "For once, _de jure_."

"Is that a compliment your you just being sarcastic?" Drakken asked confusedly, breaking what should of been a dark, an _evil_ moment apart.

"A bit of both," Shego admitted, "We all know I did a lot of the legwork in your previous schemes."

"Well, that's why I hired you, wasn't it?"

"It was? I thought you just wanted someone who could keep GJ off your back since your henchmen didn't do so hot the first time." She was being as openly sarcastic as she could now, and it wasn't hard for her to do that at all.

"Don't get too lippy, Shego," Drakken said, an air of his more villainous side coming around, "We're equal partners, but that doesn't mean it's all slapstick now."

"'course not... come on, let's get outta here before GJ gets backup down here. Hench's mercs should be either beaten or gone by now..."

_"Before you go,_" Generalissimo said as they turned to leave, "If you want some... forgeries done, I could make some arrangements for documents of the other timeline. You did, of course, hire several bureaucrats and lawyers to 'legitimize' your rule at first."

Shego curled her lip, "Yeah, I'd like to avoid that kind of evil. Lawyers are an evil below my level of villainy. In a bad way."

XXX

**Middleton High School**

Kim heard the explosion as she swerved the Sloth clear of the incoming halftrack's cannon. "Careful!" Jim shouted.

"... that thing's got enough punch to wreck us!" Tim finished.

"Working on it," Kim muttered as she accelerated the car back onto the street. "Wade, where's the GJ fire team?"

_"By the stadium!"_ Wade answered. Kim turned the car and sped towards the side road that was next to the football stadium. The half track pursued, blasting craters into the side of the road with guns powerful enough she half expected it was reverse engineered from Lil Diablo. She was burning rubber as she dodged the car side to side to avoid the energy blasts. As she turned the Sloth towards the stadium she could make out a GJ hazard soldier aiming his GJA-21 _Railing_ at the half track with a half dozen GJ agents around him and a _Telthor_ mech standing by. With large bursts of blue light, the hazard soldier opened fire from his placement on the stadium, blasting the halftrack and putting head sized dents into it every four seconds. As the damaged halftrack came into range, the other GJ agents opened fire, rapid fire focused on specific points penetrating the halftrack and stunning the drivers, one of which must of fell onto the brake as it came skidding to a halt, a final GJA-21 blast hitting it in the engine and disabling it. A large smoke plume came from it as the GJ team moved up to clear the halftrack.

"Halftrack down, Wade." Kim reported, "What's next?"

_"We got a really big problem, Kim! Dementor's swarming the space center with large numbers of synthodrones. The GJ defenders are holding them back, but there's too many..."_ Wade said before being cut off... it was her dad.

_"Kim, the Kepler requires special J200 rocket fuel to fly, I'm using an emergency ejection we set up to spread the fuel canisters across Middleton. Dementor may get the rocket, but he can't use it without five of those cells."_

"What're you saying?" Kim asked, a knot tying in her stomach as the Tweebs looked at each other.

"_It's an emergency protocol, just get as many of the canisters as you can before Dementor can..."_ Kim could hear a blowtorch cutting in the background, _"You know what to do, Kim."_ With that, he cut the transmission.

Kim glanced at the Tweebs, "Come on, we're going to the space center." She turned the car in the right direction and pushed as much speed as she could, steadily activating the rocket boosters in the Sloth.

XXX

**Middleton Space Center**

Dementor laughed as he blasted the last GJ soldier in the way across the room with an energy blast. The synthodrones had defeated almost all the GJ forces in the space center and had chased the US Army reinforcements out, but few drones remained from the rush, leaving just his henchmen to protect the facility... and the laser turrets they'd brought with them. "Get ze Kepler fueled!" Dementor ordered, "Ve need launch quickly!"

"Uh, Professor Dementor..." Myron said hesitantly.

"What?"

"The... the space center docs just did something, take a look at this." Myron lead Dementor to a console, showing a rocket launching and then separating eight canisters which began to fall across Middleton with parachutes opening. On the side a large truck was speeding clear of the space center, but he ignored it.

"Vhat is zhis?" Dementor asked, confused. "It is not ze Kepler. Escape pods or somezhing?"

"Fuel canisters. With all the space center's J200." Myron answered as he brought up intercepted feed from a chat between the hero thief and her father. Dementor cursed as he realized that they'd just pulled a stunt that he didn't plan for.

"Get everyone after zhese canisters..." Dementor ordered when the monitor beeped and brought up an image of Kim's car speeding towards the Space Center. "... und zhe halftrack," he added with a grin. It was time to use it for just what he expected, just vehicular rather than the halftrack against the accursed springy jump, self-healing super suit.

He hustled down the hallway as other henchmen began to load the MMCD onto the rocket. Even without the fuel, the quicker it was loaded the faster he could get it launched once he got the fuel. He had a simple plan in mind: Crush Kim Possible, then use his halftrack to transport the J200 fuel cells back to the Space Center and launch his MMCD. After that, it was onto world domination.

He closed the door into his personal halftrack as he took the command seat... which was also the turret gunner. Myron was driving, and another Henchman was standing by to recover the fuel canisters. Dementor smiled as he tapped the communications that was accommodated into his comfortable command seat. He had some taunting to do, even if he wasn't able to get the man needed to make it a proper villainous taunt, it would still get under her skin.

He connected to the website, and sent his first video message. "Come, Fräulein," he taunted, "Your father screamed. It makes a mad scientist's heart go yonder."

A few moments later, he was linked in by the computer geek, and he was staring Kim down now as she glared at him, two twins visible on the left side of the screen. _"Big mistake, Dementor."_

"Even bigger for you not to even be around for dear old daddy..." he added with a sadistic grin. "But don't worry, zhey say zhat it is better ze offspring outlive ze parents, no? As a parent should not outlive ze offspring?"

_"Jim, Tim, get the lasers ready. Juice them up all the way. Dementor, you just broke the one rule. Never. Mess. With. My. FAMILY!"_

"Ve vill see, Fräulein, ve vill see." He cut the transmission.

XX

"Falcon 4-9 to Falcon Actual, engaging enemy at the local Smarty Mart! Ten henchmen, one halftrack!"

_"Falcon Actual copies all, take 'em out."_

"Copy that. Alright boys, take 'em down!" Falcon 4-9 pulled his GJA-19 out and looked down the scope as the other agents took up positions on the roof of the Smarty Mart. He lined up the reticule with one of the henchmen, this one with a jet pack, and took the shot. The bolt of stun energy sped right into the henchman's head and knocked him clean off his feet as he collapsed backwards. The other GJ agents opened fire with their GJA-13s as the henchmen reacted. "Dunn!" he shouted as the halftrack turned to open fire on them, "Go grab that AT4 we found in aisle sixty-six and hit that halftrack!"

The agent hurried back as they kept pouring down the fire. Several grenades were hurled up, one blasting an agent backwards, but fortunately not off the roof. He lined up another shot with a henchman and hit him, taking him down before he could get into the store. Several henchmen got inside, only to be greeted by a prepared volley of GJA-13 rounds by the agents hiding in the store itself. Dunn came back up with the AT4. "Clear the back blast!" he shouted as a warning, agents scurrying clear of the area behind him as he lined up the shot and firing. The recoil nearly knocked Dunn over and the back blast released a torrent from behind the rocket launcher as the missile sped forward and hit the halftrack, blasting a large chunk into its main cabin and capsizing it.

"Oh yeah!"

"Well Dunn!"

"Ice one halftrack!"

"Keep it focused, clean up the rest!" Falcon 4-7 ordered as he took another precision shot, catching one of the grenadiers in the groin by accident as the grenadier leapt over the bench he was using as cover. Falcon 4-7 was aiming for the chest for stopping power.

XX

Kim gripped the wheel tight enough she was sure she was cutting off circulation to her fingers as they sped towards the space center. Jim and Tim were silent as they sped by GJ agents and Dementor's henchmen fighting in the streets. They didn't know exactly what happened and Wade was still getting the security camera feeds. They could make out the space center ahead, Dementor's halftrack coming out from it. Tim hit the trigger as the laser's targeting locked on and the green bolts blasted at Dementor's halftrack, only to be absorbed by some sort of energy shielding.

"The prick!" Tim shouted angrily.

"He jacked the suit's shielding!" Jim added, "Not cool!"

Kim swerved the Sloth out of the way as a heavy energy blast fired back from Dementor's halftrack. Skidding as the car nearly capsized she turned it and they were now behind the armored halftrack, the turret turning to face them. Tim his the trigger again after Jim had charged the Sloth's lasers, a blast hitting something on the side of the halftrack's turret.

"That looked important," Tim smirked.

"Just got rid of his lock-on," Jim explained with an even bigger smirk.

"Nice shot," Kim said as she turned the car side to side to avoid the blasts. The halftrack seemed to be speeding towards a particular place, but she couldn't tell where.

They sped past a pair of _Telthors_ mowing synthodrones down like a lawn mower to grass near the nearly rebuilt Middleton Mall, dodging parked cars and construction equipment as Kim maintained the pursuit of the fleeing mad scientist. Several stray rounds from a _Telthor_ hit the side of the Sloth, pocket marking the back seat door. Kim was irritated, she hated dents and battle scars on the Sloth even though the Tweebs were usually able to repair them quickly. It just didn't click with her.

They sped past the wreckage of the mall, the Tim and Jim having managed to get more locked on shots off at Dementor. The return fire blasted up bits of pavement and rock that landed on the Sloth and bounced off, one bit cracking the windshield. _That isn't good,_ Kim thought to herself as her mind unbidden decided to bring up Barkin's spiel about broken windshields during Driver's Ed. She had no intention of being another example in his stories about that as she sent the Sloth into a spin trying to avoid another blast that nearly scored a direct hit. Dementor's shields were still holding as they sped back onto the road.

_"Kim, Foxtrot jacked Dementor's files before taking out his lair. I'm connecting us to Dementor's communications," _Wade explained as Dementor took a sudden right turn.

"Patch us in, Wade."

_"Myron, get to ze first canister, ve vill have to beat GJ there!"_ Dementor shouted on his channel.

"The rocket launch!" Jim exclaimed.

"That had the J200 rocket fuel for the Kepler!" Tim finished, forgetting to fire as the Sloth's lasers locked onto Dementor again.

"So what?" Kim asked angrily, "Do we need to grab it or something?"

_"Kim, if Dementor can't get the fuel he can't launch the Kepler,"_ Wade explained, _"and neither can we, J200 isn't easy to come across yet so we need those canisters."_

"Alright, well it's going to be hard grabbing them on the Sloth," Kim pointed out. "Can GJ pick them up?"

_"Keep Dementor away from the cells and they can easily pick them up. Hovercraft are on the way, but you need to keep Dementor from getting five of those."_

"Got it Wade. What about my dad and the other scientists?"

_"They're fine, they just checked in with GJ and are helping Foxtrot get into a back route into the Space Center to take the Kepler back. Dementor was trying to get under your skin."_

"He's still in for it." Jim commented, and Tim agreed.

Wade uploaded the locations and highlighted the one Dementor was going for. Wade predicted that the halftrack had enough storage space for five of the canisters, and GJ was still trying to get to them while an army team retook the Space Center. Wade also mentioned that Simms' UAV was almost there. As Tim kept firing, Jim was doing something in the back seat. "What're you doing, Jim?" Kim asked.

"Magnetic beam!" Jim said, "To grab the canisters!"

"Good call," Kim said as Tim was back to locking on and firing at Dementor's halftrack. She swerved the Sloth away from a rocket launched from the halftrack, muttering under her breath "Where'd Dementor get this hardware..."

Tim scored a hit on the right tread of the halftrack, causing it to lose control briefly and Dementor to berate Myron on his channel about the energy shielding before the halftrack visibly glowed. _Must be some sort of backup,_ Kim decided. They needed a bit more power to break it down consistently. "Tim, can you juice it any further?"

"Not without switching it to lethal," he answered. "Canister ahead!"

"Hoosha," Jim said as he lowered the window and aimed the magnetic grappling beam. The first canister had landed near the Cow n' Chow parking lot, and Dementor had gotten close first. The back of the halftrack opened, still shielded, and one of Dementor's henchmen aimed his own magnetic grappling beam at the canister. Jim grunted as his seatbelt struggled to keep him in. "Keep us facing it!" he shouted as Kim had to swerve around an energy blast. Although they weren't vaporized, the hard turn had broken Jim's line of sight and Dementor managed to pull the canister in. Wade highlighted the next canister's location; the movie theater. A turret opened fire on them, but Kim ignored it as she sped past.

XX

"Oi! It's the halftrack!" a GJ agent shouted from within his _Telthor_ as he and his team of three _Telthors_ turned and opened fire on the halftrack. The barrage hit the shields of the halftrack, but it was by them quickly, the Sloth following after. "Cease fire, CEASE FIRE!" he shouted as he realized their guns were still spinning. They barely stopped their guns in time before turning when they realized they'd stumbled onto another turret.

XX

"This is Falcon 2-5, got a lock on the halftrack, marking position!"

_"Falcon Actual copies location. UAV ETA is two minutes. All units, get to those damn canisters, Dementor's henchmen have secured three of them and the Professor grabbed one! Don't let them take another!"_

He aimed his laser designator on the halftrack as long as he could. Once it was out of his line of site, he dropped it.

XX

"Get them!" One of Dementor's grenadier henchmen shouted as he and his three comrades stumbled across a GJ squad going for the canister in the park. He pulled one of his grenades from his bandoleer and cooked it for a few seconds before he threw it. One of the GJ agents, however, either had balls of steel or the intelligence of a rat as he picked up the grenade and tried to throw it back... only for it to explode in his hand. _Idiot,_ he thought as one of the jetpack equipped henchmen barreling into a GJ agent, the two struggling in mid air before the GJ agent stunned the henchman and the two came crashing down on the roof of a nearby house.  
He pulled another grenade out and lit the fuse when he took a stun round to the chest, collapsing. _Son of a..._ he didn't get to finish the thought. The grenade he was about to throw detonated in his face.

XX

"Grab it!" Kim shouted as Jim pulled the canister in close. They drove past the movie theater and Jim pulled the canister through the window. She was surprised how small it was; she expected a larger one.

"Got it!" Jim shouted as he started securing it.

"Hoosha! Score one for us!" Tim answered as he hit Dementor's halftrack with another laser hit, this one again being absorbed by the regular shield which had returned when the emergency one had been depleted.

_"Next canister is in the park. Hurry!"_

They followed Dementor as he had turned towards it first. Something was wrong though, the path to the park was the other way.

An intercepted transmission told them all they needed to know as she heard Dementor's voice: _"Heimlich, air drop a ramp at the marked position, we need one!"_ Wade marked the position... Dementor intended to get some lift to leap the small river that his halftrack couldn't fjord. The punch line was that the Sloth could also make such leaps.

She swerved to the left and managed to bring the Sloth around as Dementor was smartening up his shots to try and force her to make wrong turns, and it was working, he was gaining distance. She saw a black helicopter drop the ramp before flying off and Dementor speeding towards it...

"Hang on!" she shouted as she slammed onto the gas, shifting quickly into higher gears as she sped after Dementor, nearly running over a pair of GJ agents that were running across the street for whatever reason. Dementor made the jump, right as Kim nearly crashed into him...

Nearly. When the Sloth went off the ramp, it soared far above the halftrack and came down in front of Dementor, an energy blast nearly hitting the Sloth's vulnerable underside as she came down. The Sloth landed with a thud that nearly knocked everyone out of their seatbelts. They sped past the canister as the just-finished fight between GJ and Dementor's henchmen. Dementor slowed down as Kim pulled around to grapple with it...

_"Professor Dementor!"_ came a shout, _"We took out the GJ guard of the last canister. We've collected four and they're awaiting you in the Space Center."_

_"Good! VE DRIVE!"_ Dementor shouted as the halftrack pulled away towards the space center. Kim felt a pit form in her stomach as she realized the plan was failing, _**failing**_ with the stakes so high.

"Wade, get every GJ agent to the Space Center _now_, Dementor's making a beeline for it! Doesn't Simms have _any_ air support?"

_"UAV online in thirty seconds!"_ Wade answered, _"Slow Dementor down!"_

"Can do," Kim said as she nodded to Tim. He charged shots as GJ agents they sped past shot what they could at Dementor's halftrack, more shots hitting the Sloth's sides or front than the halftrack at the speeds they were going, easily three times the speed limits. The windshield took another hit from a _Telthor_ volley that had scattered across Dementor's side before the rest of the shots went wide into the windshield, cracking it and obscuring her vision.

Kim's heart beat faster and faster as she heard the sound of a rocket launch... and felt the rush of a missile speeding past. From the skies, a rocket impacted a lamppost near Dementor's halftrack, missing it by a slim margin, and heard Wade say with extreme confidence: _"Our UAV is online! I repeat, UAV is online!"_

_"About time!"_ Foxtrot shouted, _"I've gotten to the roof of the space center and can see the halftrack, sending coordinates! Possible, be careful of where you are, if we overshoot it with our new angle it's going to hit you!"_

"Danger close, Foxtrot!" Kim shouted, "Call it in danger close!"

_"Copy that. Danger close fire initiated!"_

The UAV was firing from the front now, hovering over the space center. Kim made out the rocket as it slammed into the top of Dementor's halftrack. "Light the shields up!" Kim shouted at Tim, "Get some room for US military spending to useful!"

Tim wasn't even trying to lock on anymore, he was taking the shots as soon as the lasers recharged. Dementor realized this and was taking evasive maneuvers. In the distance Kim could make out the sound of M-16 rifles going off and grenade detonations were visible from some of the Space Center's rooms. Dementor suddenly stopped shooting at the Sloth and aimed towards the air as a rocket directly impacted the halftrack and blew its shields away at last...

_"Get the UAV clear!"_ Foxtrot shouted, likely seeing the same thing. It was too late, Dementor fired into the sky and Kim could make out a detonation.

_"This is Sandworm Actual to all units, our UAV was shot down. Stop that halftrack, this is now an Omega-Ultimate scenario, I repeat, Omega-Ultimate."_ Something was off in Simms' voice. It wasn't his usual calm and controlled tone, it was fearful. Fearful... and ashamed.

_"Possible, do whatever you have to!"_ Foxtrot shouted as Dementor ran over a barricade that the Middleton Police had set up after Dementor had sped away, _"Omega-Ultimate means suicide is god-damned authorized to get the job done!"_

"Not needed," Kim said as she managed to pull up next to the halftrack and slammed the Sloth onto the side. The car buckled from the hit, but so did the halftrack as it was knocked to the side.

_"You're insane, Fräulein. I like that level of madness. BUT YOU WILL NOT STOP ME! NOT EVER!"_ Dementor shouted over the communications, likely having figured out his was cracked.

Kim simply answered by slamming the Sloth into the halftrack again, knocking it to the side. Dementor retaliated by slamming his halftrack into the Sloth, nearly knocking them into a building as they sped by. Kim accelerated ahead of the halftrack and dropped to the left side, hitting it one last time.

When she hit the halftrack, it was knocked to the side... and crashed straight into the space center wall. Airbags went off inside the halftrack as it hit and came to a stop. The Tweebs were cheering... right up until Kim hit the other side of the wall head on with the Sloth. Buckling forward as her seatbelt caught her, the airbags deployed and Wade was shouting something...

XX

Foxtrot was already shouting the orders. "Medics, get down there _now_!" He tied a rope onto the railing and rappelled down the side of the space center, dropping on top of a henchman in _Balmung_ armor and knocking him to the ground, knifing the henchman in the eye before pulling the knife out and throwing it into another henchman with grenades, catching him in the shoulder as he drew an M-16 from a wounded soldier as he'd run out of GJA ammunition. He sprinted forward, firing a rifle mounted grenade towards one of the last group of synthodrones and blew the dozen drones clear. A medic was behind him now as he laid down cover fire at the halftrack, the bullets being stopped by its armor but Dementor stayed down as the medic moved to the car.

"Foxtrot, I can't get the door open!"

He tossed his rifle to the medic and ripped the door open. The medic, quick on the update as drones shot at them with shock staves, took them down with a brief spray of assault rifle rounds. "Hang on ," Foxtrot said as he pulled the twin in green out from the back, "You'll be alright..." the twin had what looked like a gash on his forehead, but it was too soon to tell. He ripped the passenger door opened and pulled the other twin out. Both of their seatbelts had been partially broken in the crash, and it wasn't hard to rip them out. But Kim's had held, making his job harder as he reached in. He reached for his knife before realizing he'd thrown it.

Glancing at the windshield, he braced his hand for pain before slamming it with his energy gauntleted fist, smashing the already breaking windshield into glass shards. He grabbed one of the larger shards and used it as a makeshift knife, cutting the seatbelt at the buckle and pulling Kim out of the wreck. The medic tossed the M-16 back to Foxtrot and he took up a firing position, crouching to remain stabilized as he aimed at the halftrack, ready for Dementor to emerge and try to finish the three Possibles off.

XX

Pain. That was all she felt. Blood, blood clouded her vision as she groaned, her head spinning as she opened her eyes. A medic was standing over her, smiling faintly, "She's alive!" he shouted.

"Twins are fine too!" another shouted, "They'll live!"

Kim blinked as she tried to sit up, the medic insisting she sit down. "I'm fine," Kim told him in a dry voice. She never thought her throat had been that dry before, and she'd been stuck in the desert without water a few times before when the ride was late. A woman in blue was standing over her with an eyepatch... Doctor Director. The older woman reached down and grabbed Kim's hand as she tried to stand up. Kim let herself be pulled up, staggering to her feet uneasily.

"You did it," Doctor Director said, "You stopped them." She turned towards the left and shouted "Agent Du! Prepare to breach."

"Yes ma'am!" Agent Du shouted as his team of agents, veteran ones by the looks of their gear, prepared to breach the halftrack. A sonic mine was planted on the back door and opened and the agents pointed their guns down, but nothing happened.

"Were is he?" Will shouted angrily.

_"Ahem!"_ came a loud voice and everyone turned, aiming their weapons at a nearby halftrack as Dementor stared at them. "Vell played, vell played. But I, PROFESSOR DEMENTOR, _SHALL BE VICTORIOUS!"_

"FIRE!" Foxtrot shouted and the GJ agents opened fire with a volley, but Dementor simply sped away and a black helicopter came down, picking him up. Doctor Director sighed as Dementor made a villain exit, stage left.

"Coward." she said, "They always are."

XX

**August 5th, 2007**

**Conclave Monastery**

**Austrian Alps**

Fredrick von Vage watched through the large crystal ball that dominated the scrying tower of the monastery. In it was where the United States was preparing the Kepler rocket for launch. He turned to a nearby spell wielder who was visiting to educate the monastery's necromantic students on the moral usage of such magics, Warren Locke. "So, they're launching their warhead?"

"Yes," the other mage said. Although raised in England, he was actually of Saudi Arabian descent, and it was there, a bit, in his accent, but most of it was dominated by a British accent.

He shook his head. The image shifted to the asteroid... what really was the manifestation of the powerful _Ritual of Vulnari Arcessere_, and through that asteroid it would land on Earth, it would have landed in the ocean. The magical nature of it would have broken it into planet-survivable pieces, and then from the ocean the vulnari would spread onto land like a horde of amphibious raiders, safe in their deep sea lairs. But with the nuclear missile launch, they now had no way of knowing where they'd land. _But, perhaps,_ he thought as he realized a silver lining to the development, _the impacts will now be where they can be rooted out by non-magical means and eliminated..._

They split the ball's focus into the launch and the actual asteroid. The rocket sped into the Earth's atmosphere at a surprising speed, faster than any previously used rockets. It broke the atmosphere and sped off towards it. They focused on the asteroid, waiting tensely for minutes as the rocket sped over at speeds previously unmatched by human technology...

... and the missile hit the asteroid square in the center about where Mars would have been another time of the year, plowing into the asteroid before detonating in the center and the hypersonic boosters creating a shockwave in magical energy that ran in the asteroid. Sir Isaac Newton would have been proud if not for the fact that the magical nature of the asteroid meant his laws were manipulated slightly in the detonation. The asteroid shattered into many, many small fragments, each containing dozens of vulnari. Most would burn up in the atmosphere, and with the burning chunks the vulnari, but the fragments that landed would bring the vulnari down to the Earth once more. He just hoped the world was ready.

"The fragments are spreading in every direction... who knows what it'll hit?" Locke said.

"Some will probably hit the moon or Mars," Fredrick said as the ball shifted into a planetarium view and they began projecting where the fragments would land. "A few may go past and land on Venus or Mercury, but that will be very limited, and I doubt there will be colonization there even if a technology level required to colonize those planets is reached."

"But in the end, Earth is getting the majority of that which comes towards it. It looks like some others will land in the asteroids, but all in all... it's going to infest most of the star system."

"Not like there's life on any of those rocks. A few astronauts at the moon maybe, and the poor rober robots on Mars, but otherwise by the time humanity sets foot properly they'll be equipped to deal with it."

"Or be stuck upon the Earth."

XX

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim walked out of the hospital, glad to be on her feet again and out of it. The doctors commented that she and the Tweebs had surprising resilience, though the ones who weren't their mother were more inclined to attribute it to the safety gear in the car itself rather than their natural bodies. The good news was that the Tweebs, although bandaged up considerably, would be healed by the second month of school. They had already been driven home by their father, as Kim wanted to walk, to stretch her legs out after the car case. General Simms had left Middleton with the rocket, overseeing it personally until launch and far as she could guess he had probably returned to Area 51 to do damage control.

_Beep beep be-beep._

"Go, Wade." Kim said.

_"Hey Kim. Good news, expected news, and bad news."_

"Bad news first."

_"The asteroid broke into a lot of fragments under the missile hit. A lot of them are still coming at Earth, but they're a lot smaller and most will probably burn up in the atmosphere. They're tracking them now, using the excuse of a recently detected meteor storm, but the scary thing is is that it'll be across the globe."_

"How bad?"

_"Hate to be in the impact sight, but it should be small impacts all around with the occasional concentration in uninhabited regions. We got off pretty lightly, in all honesty."_ Something was bugging Wade, however.

"Alright, what's the expected news? I can probably guess it though..."

_"Yeah... the Sloth's been completely junked. It's well within repair capabilities and GJ is fixing it as a thank you card, but you'll need to rely on rides again for a while."_

"Not a big deal. The good news?"

_"The asteroid was hit."_

Kim smiled, "Just another boring day saving the world. So not the drama."

XXX

XXX

**End Chapter**

*** So yeah... I apologize for this being updated so late, but school has kicked up and is really tearing my schedule a new one. I'll try and update if possible, but I'd consider this on a monthly update schedule. I'll aim for three weeks and hopefully will get plenty of ground during school vacations, but otherwise assume monthly updates of the fanfic. Between school and afterschool sports, I had a lot more time than I expected hacked off from my schedule.**

*** I'm not changing Kim's "call sign" when she works with GJ just yet, but if anyone wants to offer some ideas feel free to either stick them in the review or PM me. If I go with it, I'll make sure you get credit for it in these notes and maybe a brief cameo (or extremely minor role) later on.**

*** This chapter is a turning point, at last, it's switching towards the endgame. Steadily, that is. I have to admit, I'm surprised at the mayhem that the plot turned into, but then again, the title of this chapter is Middleton Mayhem.**

*** As for the scale of the asteroid... it was brought to my attention that a four mile large one would basically spell doomsday. I apologize for that bit of inconsistency, but the Kepler's speed and the hypersonic that was a MacGuffin in **_**Car Alarm**_** helps avert that. Still, we really oughta be careful about those kinds of rockets, don't you think?**

*** For those who haven't guessed, I actually based this chapter on the KP game on the Disney Channel website called **_**Middleton Mayhem**_**, and it had a similar concept of Dementor going after fuel cells to launch his rocket and turrets being dropped around Middleton. It had absolutely nothing to do with nukes, grenades, SEALs, or an asteroid big enough to make Earth hurt a **_**lot**_**. It did have the Sloth shooting lasers, though.**

*** And, finally, next chapter will focus on Drakken and Shego. Enough with Team Possible, eh? Dementor needs to go lick his wounds, Kim needs a few days to walk it off, and Ron's still training his sorry hide off in Yamanouchi.**

*** Don't worry about Doc Freeman, he's fine. Just knocked out and off recovering somewhere. Or making a robot to do that for him.**

*** In regards to the ASIT future, I figured fleshing Future!Wade's line about "every mission ending badly" out a little with the last ditch before ASIT kicks in for Kim. So obviously there was Jim, Tim, Wade, and Monique. The cowgirl was future Joss, the medic Tara (yes, the cheerleader!), and the sniper was... Josh Mankey. Hey, the Tweebs in the OTL (original timeline for the unfamiliar) weren't very violent, and in the ASIT timeline they're badass commandos. It's not that big a stretch to say other of Kim's classmates would of picked up some combat skills as part of the Resistance... and got killed or worse in the battles involving it.**

*** As for how Dementor escaped, all I have to comment is this: Villain exit stage left. Cell Block D is beneath KP Villains :P (As for how Drakken was held in there for an extended period of time... erm... hey, look, Ron Stoppable!)**

**-=Document Recovery: News Report; 8/5/07=-**

_Source: Middleton Evening News_

_"In other news, a nuclear launch test has raised international concern over American weapons development. Joint chiefs of staff refused comment, but Russian diplomat..."_ [static] "_referred to the space-aimed launch a, quote, 'violation of regulation', end quote. US General Adams commented that the test was within perfect UN bounds and that the rocket going into space was an 'accident of unforeseen circumstance'. Political analysts suggest that, from the lack of opposition from other parties of the US weapons test that the storm over this is in response to the actions of teen hero Kim Possible several days ago off the eastern Russian coast foiling yet another supervillain."_

_"In a brief security council meeting, the launch was concluded to be legitimate and no sanctions are to be placed on the US for this nuclear launch."_

_"The launch was a test of a prototype 'Kepler 2.5' rocket being developed in Middleton Space Center, but details beyond this are sketchy other than its launch at Cape Canaveral. Why was a rocket from Middleton down in Florida? What relation did it have to the Mayhem in Middleton yesterday? Is there a connection to the meteor storm just happening to be discovered after this explosion in space? We'll get to that after the break. I'm Heather Tyler, from MNN Studios."_

**-=Document Ends=-**


	19. Chapter 19: Red Side

_"The best part about being a villain? You're the active one. Heroes always _react_, villains always _act_. I could name the times princess went on the offensive first with one hand. She always reacted to our plays. And that's how Global Justice acts, how PBD acts, and how a lot of militaries are going to wind up reacting to villains until they learn that they need to be a little more permanent in dealing with us. And knowing this is how a villain wins."_

- Shego, on the advantages of being a villain. Date debated, ranging from 2002 to 2008.

_"I understand your concern, General, the plan is an interesting one to say the least. But the merging of Global Justice and PBD into one command structure would suit our needs much better, given the loss of influence over Gemini's actions, limited as it was, and Global Justice coming into its own. However, I would like you to begin looking for recruits... we want you to head PBD's new role as the heavy hitting arm. You are aware, of course, of Operation 404 during the Vietnam war... and I know of your wish to reform it to fight supers yet again. You have this permission now. Form a new 404, Taskforce 404, to serve as the glue of the merging of Global Justice and Power Busters Division. Global Justice may have a better reputation than PBD, but we will not be losing the competence that you've placed into PBD, as it's men will now be filling GJ's mainline ranks. You were right, General, it's time to take a more active role. Hands off and leaving Global Justice as a mostly autonomous force is done, and it will now answer to considerable UN oversight. If this merge and proper reorganization has any problems, you're our first contact to organize matters, but for now you are to begin finding recruits for the new 404."_

- Louis Fredricks, French representative on the UN Security Council and head of its overview of superpowers, to PBD General Adrian Malta of a recent move to merge PBD and GJ together in order to streamline efforts.

**Chapter 19: Red Side**

**August 6th, 2007**

**Doctor Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

**The Caribbean**

Shego and Drakken were sitting in the lair's lounge, bringing up dossiers on various people who could be useful. They had determined a fairly reliable scheme this time, or at least what they figured. It was designed not to be centered around any specific doomsday device or just one plot, they were going to run layers of villainous scheme. On the outside, they'd have dummy versions of classic plots, most of which would be nice if they worked, but overall were more to provide a smoke screen. Under that, they would start using front organizations to start building up a network of support from the everyday people, even get some officials onto their side through these networks. This mean that even if the two were (temporarily) out of the picture, the majority of the scheme would remain intact until they broke out of whatever GJ cell they were sent to and could continue from there. It also wasn't going to rely on any one type of enforcement; they planned on marshalling plenty of henchmen or henchmen analogs as well as more advanced weapons to occupy GJ's forces and aligned supers.

But in the heart of the scheme, however, was hearts and minds. They were going to offer a solution to problems. Most of which were already being created; villains acting up and being more obvious than ever, heroes trying to stop it but only having collateral damage occur from undisciplined and cliché efforts. And where there wasn't a situation they could solve, they weren't afraid to create one or two in the area with false flag (and a few layers of isolation to shield them). Once their front organizations started getting power, power enough to challenge GJ, they'd disable the organization and any supers who came to its assistance. They were using the schemes that had come closest to success as their reference. Lil Diablo, when they used corporate occupation as a network to spread the scheme before activating it, the ice age scheme when they had Hank Perkins along for the ride. These schemes were where they drew reference as they were successful, and had also been studying history. It surprised them how easily leaders easily ten times more vile as them had been able to rise to power.

But every scheme started with finding useful backs to do the work with. Both were planning on doing quite a bit of legwork, especially since Shego decided that the important things and quite a bit of day-to-day would need to be handled by her personally to make sure it went well. What they needed was reliable seconds and subordinates to make sure they could delegate responsibility for certain areas without compromising its place in the scheme. And that meant they needed to find potential allies, which meant going through dossiers from various sources like villainous magazines.

"Here's one," Shego commented as she looked through the dossiers, "Fellow named Jon Ordai... ex Hel's Demon, but he's on real good terms with Jack Hench's mercenary providers. Henchmen through this guy might help if we can bust him out of Cell Block D."

"Meh," Drakken said, "We're going to be mostly drones at this point, I doubt we'd be able to hire a bunch of henchmen with competence for too long. Maybe get some to offer favorable contracts, but not long term stuff. Besides, hired guns have an unfortunate habit of being just as willing to fight us as fight for us. At least the ones that work with Hench or use his services to get contracts do."

"And well, most henchmen or mercenaries through Hench or someone like him tend to be of the guys fresh from the street type," Shego agreed, "They aren't ex-soldiers like a lot of the guys in Blackwater would be before joining, and training them up to scratch is always expensive."

"Oh, I could probably sup up a few henchmen with the right tools, but genetic enhancements is such a questionable science right now. The only specialists would be DNAmy… and she's working for GJ, last I heard, to avoid jail time. Let's keep him on the list, even if we don't go for him now."

She nodded and tossed the dossier into the 'consider' pile. She pulled out the next one... "Hank Perkins. The temp..."

"He might be useful, put him in the to call pile." Drakken said before frowning, "You know, I can think of one man who may be able to help. A lot of this is going to cost a lot, and we need stuff we can afford to distribute a lot of. Global Justice getting all militarized to the point they might as well be some new sort of global deployment army. Taking them on means we really have to be effective with what we can get, and if we can get it cheap…"

"Oh no, you don't mean..."

"Yes. Frugal Lucre."

Shego groaned loudly, putting a hand on her forehead. "R… really, Doctor D? Lucre? Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously." Drakken responded. "He's certainly annoying at times, but he's got knowledge of how to do things cheap. Pin him up with Hank and the two could probably give us efficiency for the best price we can get it. Hank makes sure its quality, but Lucre finds the bargains. Together they find good stuff for good cash."

"Alright, I'll bite..." she whistled as she found another dossier, "This guy's a total non-villain, but check out his powers." She showed the Dossier to Drakken of a man named Lucas Coleman, "He's basically a human supercomputer. A guy like that could help us track everything in ways a computer can't, and would probably be great for organizing plans. He'd be able to notice the things we wouldn't, you know?"

"Let's keep him in mind, then." He said with a nod before putting down the dossier. His flowers popped out again and with a resigned sigh he ripped them out again. "though I'd be hesitent about non-villains."

"I am to," she admitted, "But non-villains tend to have skills that we ignore or don't think about, and a better perspective on the average sheep out there. Helps to have that perspective in consideration when planning."

They went through a few more before Drakken decided he wanted to get some work done in his tech lab upstairs. Shego shrugged and followed. As she entered, she saw Drakken had been working on synthodrones and weird ray things. _Evil think tank indeed,_ she mused as she recalled the motive rant that had ended the alternate timeline. "So doc," she asked as she looked at one of the gray plasma bazooka; _things_ he'd been working on. "What're these?"

"Oh, the man-portable plasma cannon? I figured that design might be useful for helping drones take out a GJ _Telthor_, but the drones are too fragile to handle the recoil. No back blast, which is a great improvement over what the army has, but it's a clunky design. Not sure how I'm going to get synthodrones working on that, and I don't think giving these to every henchmen is going to be practical."

"What about those Frisbee things that Dementor's been giving his drones?" she asked as she put a finger on her chin, thinking about it. "Put some explosives in and a volley would be pretty good at torching one of GJ's new toys."

Drakken considered the suggestion, snapping his goggles on (and whispering 'ow' afterwards) before he answered. "Could work, I suppose, but I need some samples. I could easily make it, but it'd be easier to just take Dementor's design and modify it." Afterwards, he went back to modifying what looked like some sort of chainsaw that was supposed to be on someone's arm.

"Well, what're we looking at for force anyways? I can't be everywhere at once, much as I'd like to handle it all personally." Shego asked, "I mean, I know we don't have much, but what do we have?"

"Honestly speaking?" Drakken asked, "Henchmen with shock staves and drones with the same. Not very useful except to swarm… and the henchmen aren't numerous enough for that. I'm figuring it's better to leave henchmen for things that need some smarts and let drones deal with anything else."

"So in other words the usual, minus a major evil scheme for now." She said with a nod. "Any ideas of getting new stuff? I mean ideas besides you making it."

"Outsourcing is always fun, and I can think of a few things that it'd be a good idea to," Drakken said with a smile before he curled his lips into a sneer that he missed the flowers popping out, "Or Hench, but I don't like dealing with that overcharging twerp."

"We'll probably have to at some point. Alright, any ideas about picking up Hank? I figured I'd go pick him up while you work on your toys."

Drakken nodded as he grunted from pulling the last pedal out, "Give me a sec…" he stabilized the drone that he was attempting to attach the odd chainsaw thing to. He sighed as the drone melted. "I need to get these drones more durability, they're too fragile." He shook his head and wiped his lab gloves off on a nearby towel before walking to the computer, typing in and bringing up its search functions. "Ah, Hank Perkins… he's off at Senior's Island right now. Hmmm…" he considered, "You may want to try and get Junior on your side. He's a dull bulb, but he's still got access to his father's limitless fortune."

"He's smart enough to not sign everything over like he did to Wheeler," she reminded, "But yeah, maybe I could convince him to lend some help. Or maybe we can pick up a tip on where we can pick up some funding to get things done, let's not hit the red day one this time."

"Yes, that's always annoying," Drakken said as he grit his teeth, "Though with what we found in those vaults we should be fine for a while."

She nodded, "See you in a while, hopefully with an annoying temp behind me when I get back."

"Later, I'll be here trying to recreate tech from the alternative future." Drakken paused, "Wow, I can't believe I just said that with a straight face…"

XXX

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim leaned on the table as she looked at the news. Still nothing good and she wasn't feeling any better. Her arm and legs were bandaged and she still had her flexibility, but her mother had insisted that she not go on any missions until she fully healed. Even though she'd done missions when hurt worse before. This time it was mostly bruising and some small cuts, in other times she'd had hairline fractures she didn't even know about until a week and four missions in hazardous weather conditions later.

Her dad looked up from the newspaper, "It's a shame, you know. To know that a rocket I meant to help make space travel more practical to help repair the damage done to orbital satellites during the attack was instead used as a launch for a weapon of mass destruction," he sounded oddly bitter. "I feel like I'm just following Drew's path right now, the road to supervillainy, except for someone else, not myself."

Kim nodded, "It is a bit disturbing to know that the answer to this was a nuke… I mean, with how large it was a nuke was probably small in comparison to what should have been sent at it, but it's still horrifying. Any news on the impacts?"

"We'll have a number projected, but they shouldn't be too dangerous. Mostly small shards and fragments that'll burn up in the atmosphere, but there'll be impacts. We're charting them now to help plan evacuations of where they'll hit and those GJ fellows are getting teams ready. I'd just like to know why we didn't see it coming in sooner, it shouldn't of jumped us like it did."

"Space is big," Kim said with a shrug, "But yeah, usually space centers are better at picking things up." Usually. She didn't add that she'd of liked a little more warning about Earth about to get an alien invasion during her graduation. _First my prom, now my graduation, what's next, my wedding? Just one day, world, _one_ day where I can have something big in my life happen without a supervillain trying to ruin it._ "Something was wrong with it though, from what I saw. It looked familiar, like it'd be something that I'd see in that lair I busted in Russia."

"The one with those 'magic' using guys?"

"The same. I broke whatever scheme they were doing, but I can't help but wonder if the asteroid was part of it because of the energy zapping around it. Maybe it was supposed to break up earlier if the magic hadn't been broken?"

He shrugged, "I deal with science, Kimmie-cub, not that kind of stuff. Probably going to have to though, check this out." He showed Kim a story in the _Examiner_, on a fight between PBD riot soldiers trying to pin down a super hurling both fireballs and shards of ice, a burning building in the background. The incident was long since over and PBD had detained the super responsible and his lackeys (gang members who were high on rima), but it was still just another omen to her. Another sign that things were getting weird for Earth, and very fast. But the outfit the super wore was more in line with what the villain in Russia had worn, which set off some quiet alarm bells for her.

"Any news on Nana?" she asked.

"She's fine, and I'm going to heading down there now that this crisis is over with. Your mother's going to be staying, though. The hospital has been getting a bunch of cases."

"Can I come with you?" Kim asked. "It's pretty quiet an GJ thinks they can deal with Gill this time around."

"Sure, I know it'd brighten her day if Nana saw you, Jim, and Tim."

XX

**Senior's Island**

**Atlantic Ocean**

Shego parked on the side of the island's small dock and leapt out onto the marina. She took Drakken's flying car for the ride since she needed to bring Hank back to the lair. Two henchmen wearing blue shirts and beige pants looked up with shock staves in hand. "This is private property, you can't park here." One said as the other leveled his shock staff at her.

She held her right hand by her side in a fist and lit it with plasma, the green glow causing the one with the shock staff to glance at it in reconsideration. "I'm here to talk with Senor Senior Junior, if you don't mind."

"Stay here," the first henchman said as he walked to the back of the marina, talking on his headset while the other henchman looked at her. She noticed several smaller laser turrets of HenchCo design along the deck, poorly concealed but there to even the odds for any henchmen on the docks when things get rough. She let her plasma fade off and folded her arms as she looked at the henchman. The other one finally came back and said, "The boss wants to speak with you, Miss. This way." He gestured along and she followed, walking up a rocky trail to the walls which surrounded the Seniors' main estate, laser turrets of again HenchCo make dotting the walls and henchmen patrolling on top, looking down over the undecorated and plain battlements with shock staves in hand.

As they arrived at the gate Shego noticed that the henchmen standing at the gate were differently armed, a large riot shield on one arm and a baton in the other, which has a small glow at the end very similar to a shock staff. _Shock batons now, huh?_ She thought with interest. _That's a new one from Hench._ The henchman leading her in showed his identification and led her inside to the main ground of the estate, where several off duty henchmen were standing at a small shed to the side that looked like a recreational room or makeshift bar of some sorts, given the drinks they were sharing.

"So, your family good?" one of the off-duty henchmen asked.

"Yeah; the pay here isn't the best but it's a lot safer than what you could get in a factory and pays more than selling canned hams or whatever at Smarty Mart." The other one answered, "I have to admit, not how I expected to make my living, but at least Hench doesn't just give you one of those boom sticks and send you to a random contractor."

"Yeah, I hate that happening. But work's work, eh?"

"Amen, bro." the two clinked the glasses together before drinking.

She was lead into the main building, and in a good sized room she found Hank, and he saw her too. "Ah, good to see you again. In look for evil aide? Always willing to work."

_Nasally and annoying as ever,_ she thought with irritation. The dossier had mentioned that villains at least gave him a try but overall decided it wasn't worth it. _He's got a lot of skills though, so I just have to deal with that part._ She nodded, "Yeah, that's why I came here. Doctor D and I figure you might be able to do quite a bit with the new scheme we're on."

"Freezing the heroes' precious? Take over the world? Simple revenge? Got advice and training to make henchmen more effective anywhere, any villain."

"The middle one." She said, "So, you considering it?"

"Certainly, I have to offer costs for my services this time but you'll find that your return will be considerable. And there's another matter…"

"What is it?" Shego asked.

"HenchCo." He said, sighing. "Jack Hench arranged for my cousin to be kidnapped and he's being held by Gemini in Puerto Rico until Hench comes to pick him up to use as blackmail. I hoped Junior would have some manpower, but he's not willing to do a rescue mission for my services. Maybe you would?"

Shego considered, weighing it. _Might be worth it, Gemini tends to keep tech around his outposts._ "Why would Hench want to kidnap your cousin? You said blackmail, but blackmail about what?"

"Well, he thinks I'm infringing on his turf by offering training to take existing henchmen and make them more effective. So he told me to stop or he'd take action, and it looks like kidnapping my cousin was it. He's probably going to make it work for him and get next to nothing or he does something to my cousin now…"

"Why your cousin? Why not your mother or even just go straight for you. A lot more direct and effective."

"My mother was a spy. She knows how to evade attention. My cousin? A super who recently had a run-in with PBD zealots when he had an accident with his newly found powers."

_Yeah, that figures…_ she thought, wondering what Hank's cousin's powers were. It had to be something visible for PBD to get involved with an 'accident' involving it. "Alright," she said, "We'll discuss it back in the Caribbean. You have a ride?"

"No, Junior brought me here by black helicopter."

She nodded, "I'll give you a lift then. Come on."  
"Didn't you want to talk with Junior?" asked the henchman who'd lead her in. _Nuts,_ Shego thought, she'd forgotten about him.

"Nah, got what I came for." She curled her lip, "Guess I should be polite and say hi while I'm here though…"

XX

**Dementor's Alaskan Lair**

"First, ze hero thief interrupts ze Henchlympics by infiltrating und posing as a henchvoman I nearly hired, _zhen_ she foils MY PLANS OF WORLD DOMINATION?" Dementor screamed at the top of his lungs in his room, pacing in front of the giant monitor replaying scenes from both the Henchlympics and the recent mayhem in Middleton. "Und both times she did it without ze accursed self-healing spring-stepping _vith the __**hand thing BATTLE SUIT!**_" He screamed something resembling a cross of an animal yell and a howl loudly in rage as he hurled a fist into the nearest thing, a picture of his irritating Uncle Franz. "VHAT," he finally asked to no one in particular as he stared as the picture of his mother, "is ze problem with zhis picture?"

"Nothing, Professor, your mother is quite a lovely woman." Myron said shakily as he stood at the door. Dementor turned, holding his hands in a fist as if he was about to strangle Myron before he took a deep breath and sighed.

"Yes, my mother is a quite lovely voman. I should call her to see how she is doing. A hard woman, one who was able to avoid ze attack of an alien walker when ze entire village was wiped out. Of course, it could just be ze aroma of her strudel interfering with ze sensors..." he sighed. "Shame zhat ve did not even recover vhat that scientist was working on in ze Institute of Technology."

Myron shrugged, "Well, I came to tell you that your mother's hosting a family reunion."

Dementor face palmed. _How could I be so silly as to forget the annual reunion?_ he wondered, deciding that a temporary break from the schemes of villainy would be worthwhile. He had a family, after all. As much as they saw him as the weird one everyone avoided, he was part of the family. _Now if only more than my sister and mother cared for me, that would be so much sweeter when coming to these reunions..._

"Maybe Otto vill be there from verever he is constantly studying," Dementor wondered out loud briefly.

"Yeah, what does he do?"

"None of us know. Only zhat he's in ze Alps in Austria for ze most part."

XX

**Doctor Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

Drakken nodded as it was explained to him by Shego. Hank was waiting in a nearby room. "From what you've told me, this is a win-win for us. Let's agree and get moving to Gemini's little hidey hole."

"Any new tricks you might have for me to try out?"

"Actually yes; you remember that magnetic stuff that the computer geek helped you use when the buffoon and I switched brains? I've been making some new gloves, just like your current ones. They have it loaded on as an option. It'll be like a grappling hook, except you can use it to rope someone in closer to you."

"Handy," Shego commented with a slight smile as she took the gloves, which warmed Drakken's heart to know that he'd finally found some mad science she could use. "So, you got the data on the base?"

Drakken nodded, "Give me a few minutes to get it all out, but I bet it'd be a cinch to get in and out with Hank's cousin." He turned to his computer and pulled up the appropriate programs. "Alright, we can speak to Hank in the meeting room."

Shego nodded, "Let's get this planned then, kicking some henchmen down would be better than sitting around."

"I'll be down in a minute, going to get some synthodrones readied." Drakken said, "Never know."

XX

Shego nodded to Hank as the two were looking over the holographic map that focused on the small WEE compound on Puerto Rico. It was a simple complex, encircled with a stone wall and with a single building. A power generator was on the roof and the gate to the wall was sealed with a magnetic lock. Guarding it was a group of henchmen supported with, from what Drakken could gather, a few mercenary ninjas, including a sumo ninja. "Not really well defended, is it?" Shego commented.

"No, it's not," Drakken admitted as he pulled another flower bloom out, "But it's a covert listening post rather than an operational base. A well defended one, but that may just be for the job involving Hank's cousin... what's his name?"

"Charles," Hank said. "He's a bit like me, but has hazel eyes instead of brown and a large nose. You'll recognize him pretty quickly, since he'll likely be the only one in a cell."

"Right. So Drakken, what're the drones you want to send in?" Shego asked curiously, looking over at Drakken. She didn't plan on counting on them, but she figured one could prove handy if she needed something expendable or something to sniff out mines and other such booby traps. Drakken punched in several buttons on the console and brought up a diagram of a standard synthodrone standing like a lowercase T. With a few more buttons pressed, Drakken showed modifications being made to it. It's body was slightly thickened like armor, a breastplate-like piece of armor that looked vaguely like Kevlar was placed over and strapped down with leg and knee pads as well, and the hands were modified with blade-like edges.

"Blade Drones," Drakken explained, "Melee oriented, but better armored. I'm hoping to eventually give them Dementor's _Balmung_ armor or something like it. Basically taking the 'cannon fodder' out of the synthodrone definition for a close-quarter hitter."

"Handy; what punch does it have?"

"The blades are made of a fine steel composite and are shaped just right, and the armor can easily withstand several shock staff blasts. This should let one get in close, but it's still just a drone and its armor won't last long against a good shot from a proper rifle."

"Might be useful," she commented, "Alright doc, I think I can use that as extra help for tougher fights. How many you have?"

"Couple prototypes which I'll send in along with a group of drones. As for how to use, they're going to be hitting the front gate. Take out the power here, on the roof," Drakken brought the image back to Gemini's Puerto Rican base, "and the gate will open as part of a failsafe. Gemini didn't think to include an escape hatch for his henchmen, so they wired it to remain open so they don't starve or something from Gemini leaving them trapped in a power outage."

"And getting in?"

Drakken pulled up a section of the wall, a blind spot from the coastline it was built on. "Creep in here and rappel up. The blind spot isn't too large, but by the time they notice you here you'll be in the tower and can rappel over to the main building at the top. Once the power's out it'd be relatively easy for the drones to hit the lower floor while you start clearing the top floor."

"Don't you mean we?" Shego asked, folding her arms.

"Yes, we, but I'm not good enough for the stealth to get in. I'll be coming in with some henchmen to get Charles out, but you'll be going in first." Drakken explained with a shrug, "Hey, someone's gotta come with a ride."

"True," Shego admitted. "Alright, sounds good. Anything else I should consider?"

"Don't let Gemini hurt my brother at all, please." Hank said. "It'd drastically cut down on performance. Morale, mood swings, that stuff..."

_In other words, he might not work for us. Subtle, __**real**__ subtle..._ Shego thought with a flash of irritation as she nodded. "Alright then. Let's get to work."

XX

XX

**Fifty Minutes Later**

**WEE Listening Post**

**Puerto Rico**

Shego knew that no plan lasted against contact, but this one was changed a lot faster than most. And for once, it was a good thing, as it made her entrance easier than she was expecting.

When she had gotten closer to the base, she had discovered that a WEE henchman was on the side of the beach taking a smoke from a water ski that he must of been patrolling off shore with. She had stunned him quietly before he had reported anything and found his PDA, which included a daily journal and confirmed he was on patrol duty and was expected back soon. With the timetable, Shego had hijacked his water ski and placed an explosive charge on the front before hopping on. The charge was set to ten seconds, but she hadn't activated it yet. Once it blew, however, anything on the water ski and in a five meter radius would be dead, and anything organic at the charge's detonation would probably be partially liquefied.

She kicked the water ski's engines to 'on' and rode it, hugging the body of the craft as she came up on the base. There was a radio message from the WEE base; _"Alright Andrew, send the password, usual drill."_

She spotted a small rock outcropping and started the timer. Ten... Nine... _"Andrew?"_ Eight... Seven... Six she kept driving the water ski towards the rock outcropping. Five... four..._"ANDREW!"_ the WEE controller shouted as she rode the ski over the rock outcropping and leapt off, diving into the water.

As she submerged the water ski detonated in mid air as it was flying towards the non-blind spot guard tower. She quickly swam to shore as she heard lots of swearing and the WEE agents were distracted by the explosions and bits of flaming metal flying all over the place. Shego crept up to the side wall and adjusted her new gloves, setting them for a grappling hook and rappelling up the guard tower in the blind spot. She came up to see two henchmen with their shock staves held vertically, staring and pointing at the final wisps of smoke from the explosion in shock. She grabbed the right one and hurled him into his partner, the two being knocked against the door of the guard post and falling out, landing on the catwalk of the perimeter wall.

She hurled another lasso of energy, amazed at how her powers could be modified with a simple gauntlet. She roped around a communications dish's base on the central building and leapt out, coming just above the second story mark on the two story main building and pulled herself up, somewhat uneasily as she was still adjusting to using the energy gauntlet. Shock staff blasts fired at her from the walls as henchmen caught on, but by that point energy blasts from outside were also coming in. Drakken's synthodrones were making their distraction, and it was leaving the henchmen in a confusion. She pulled up onto the roof's ledge to come face to face with one of Gemini's hired ninjas.

She barely had time to react as he made the first strike, dipping down and holding onto the ledge with her fingers as she swung around and hit the ninja in the back. He grunted from the blow and almost fell off, but hurled a grappling hook from a concealed belt pouch and grappled onto another communications antenna and swung back up, disconnecting as Shego came to the side he swung towards and hurled a bolt of plasma. He barely had enough time to turn away from the blast and narrowly avoided it, hurling a shuriken towards her, which missed and sailed off into the wind. The two closed the distance and began to trade hand to hand blows. _Not a bad fighter,_ she admitted to herself before she kicked him in the leg and tripped him, finishing him off with a punch to the face with her plasma charged. Satisfied he was down, she hurried to the roof mounted power generator and began to break it down. First punching a hole with a plasma charged fist, she began to claw out the internal wires before standing back as it began to spark and smoke violently. She was clear when it detonating with a satisfying _fwoom_.

_Beep beep beep..._

She answered the handheld communicator and Drakken appeared, _"Nice work, Shego. Phase one is done; the drones will get to clearing house while you go find Hank's cousin, I'll be ready to pick you up and deal with any help Gemini calls in; I've modified the flying car..."_

"Clown car seems to be the first modification," Shego commented with a sly smirk, "See you soon, Doc."

_"Knock out that sumo ninja for me, would you? I like to think I was the only one who hired a competent one."_

Shego snorted with amusement as she turned the communicator off and opened the door into the building itself, heading down the flights of stairs quickly.

As she came into the hallway two WEE agents confronted her, firing their shock staves at her in unison. Shego dodged the blow and activated the magnetic generators in her gloves, pulling one of the henchmen close to her. Smiling viciously, she hit him with several plasma charged punches before hurling him into his comrade, intercepting another shock staff blast as the henchman flew through the air. She hurried past the now unconscious henchmen as an engineer came out from his office and activated his harness, firing a blast of cryogenic energy at her. Shego lit her plasma and slashed through it, blocking most of the blast but a good pint of the liquid splashed onto her chest and legs, freezing her where contact was made and sending shivers up her spine. She hurled a bolt of plasma at the engineer, catching him in the face, before grabbing him with the magnetic gloves and slashing his TECH harness into pieces, leaving the engineer on the floor with cauterized cuts where her razor sharp nails cut.

She reached the flight of stairs to the first floor when someone struck her from behind, knocking her against the railing with a grunt. Rolling to the side as she hit, she spotted the mercenary ninja on Gemini's payroll who had hit her from behind. She retaliated with a leg sweep, which the ninja leapt over and struck back. Shego was able to block this time now that she could see her opponent, knocking his fists to the side as he swung with his left then his right. She slid an uppercut under his block, knocking him backwards into the wall with the blow. She pounced on him before he could recover and knocked him out. Satisfied, paused as she heard thuds coming her way...

Glancing over the stairs she spotted the sumo ninja walking from deeper in the base to the front door where the fight was. Shego leapt over the railing, crashing down onto the sumo ninja and driving his face into the floor. She smirked as the ninja groaned, taken down in one hit because of his own weight. "Thanks for breaking my fall, sucka," she taunted into his ear before hitting him in the back of the neck to make sure he was knocked out. She glanced up through the doorway into the building's entry hall, which had a decent size to it. Synthodrones were fighting with the henchmen, close quarter combat spilling into the corridor as a henchman slammed a synthodrone and impaled it with his shock staff, smiling to himself for his kill before he noticed Shego. She hurled a bolt of plasma into his face and knocked him back into the fray, leaving him unconscious, then she sprinted into the slaughter.

She had to admit, Gemini's henchmen weren't the best but they put up a good show for themselves. Henchmen were dueling the regular synthodrones and proving victorious, the ninjas in particular being useful as they hurled small darts into synthodrones with precision. Shego leapt for the nearest ninja, who was in mid air from leaping clear of several shock staff blasts from the drone, and tackled her, taking her down to the ground with a loud crack. _Ninja down,_ Shego thought with a faint grin as she turned to take on the henchman who tried to charge her with his shock staff. He managed to parry her first punch with the end of the shock staff, but that was his only claim in that fight. She followed up with her other fist and caught him in the rib. If her plasma wasn't charged, it might of been shrugged off, but it was and the henchman went down with a resounding crack from his ribcage.

She glanced up as the fighting began to slow, a tie having come up with only three henchmen still standing, surrounding a blade drone. Shego leapt over and grabbed the furthest one, knocking him out quickly and dropping behind the other two, who were staring at the synthodrone in surprise.

"New one, huh?" the first one asked.

"Yeah... pretty cool looking though, check out those blades!" the other answered, "Lot cooler than those black box GJ schematics we got here."

"I hear that. Honestly, why couldn't Fredrick be out here duking it with us? What makes him and Pinstripe so important?"

"The fact that they're not turning their backs to the bad girl," Shego said as she grabbed their heads and slammed them into each other, knocking the two henchmen out as their foreheads collided. Shego looked at the drone. "Hey, drone, you working?"

"Synthodrone Blade Variant 29-11 operational," it answered in a monotone. "Input directive."

"Follow me," Shego ordered, "Help me out. Got a map?"

"State location."

"Where's the prisoner?"

"Need access to computer terminal to assess data. Cannot calculate nearest computer terminal."

Shego frowned, thinking back. She glanced up the stairs, "Come on," she said. They climbed the stairs quickly, Shego stepping over the downed engineer into the office he had come from. And to her little surprise, a computer was in there. The office was quite the mess, but it looked like the stereotypical geeks hacker cave, except with only one computer. She nodded to 29-11, "Alright, plug in."

"Negative, that is not within my functions. Hacking is not permitted within programming specifications."

Shego sighed loudly, "Alright, fine, I'll do it myself." She started typing into the computer while 29-11 stood guard. She found out quickly that the computer wasn't password protected since the engineer hadn't closed out of his programs yet. As she was looking for which cell to break open something caught her eye. It was a file named _GJ Intel: Project Patton_. As Shego opened the file, she whistled and downloaded it onto her flash drive, looking at the wireframe of a tank design that Global Justice was working on until the entire lab was destroyed during the lorwardian attack along with all its prototypes and data. "This oughta be useful..." she said quietly, realizing the base had been sitting on a piece of black box technology.

She returned to checking which cell and nodded as she found the cell block. "Let's go, 29-11," she said and the two hurried back down and through the corridor which the sumo ninja had been coming from, the two climbing over the downed sumo ninja easily and going into the corridor. A laser turret sprang up near the stairs down into the basement, but 29-11 (who had taken point) charged in before it could fire and sawed the turret into three pieces with two swings. _Those blade drones aren't half bad,_ she decided as they hurried down the stairs.

"Alright, get this chump and let's get out of here. Hench can pick him up in Deadmerc's," a henchman said in the cells as the two reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah, easier for us since that freaky Shego chicks got a bead on us... let's get going," another one answered. Shego held a hand up to 29-11 and crept up towards the two henchmen as they opened the cell door. As it opened, Shego was right behind one of the henchmen. She tapped him on the shoulder, and as he turned around she hit him with a haymaker, knocking him back into the other henchman, shock staves clattering on the floor. 29-11 charged into the fray and made sure the two stayed down as Shego stepped into the cell, finding a man in a tattered shirt and pants. He had a certain resemblance to Hank, but the large nose and hazel eyes told her that this was Charles.

"Wh... who are you?" he stuttered as he backed into his cell.

"I know this sounds corny, but I'm here to rescue you."

"Wait wait wait, _you're_ rescuing me? Next thing you know Hank will be a damn supervillain..."

"You cousin? Yeah, working with him. Come on, ride's waiting."

Charles glanced around, then shrugged, "Anywhere's better than here, and probably a lot better than being in Hench's care... so what's the drone?"

"Blade Drone, designation 27-11," the drone automatically answered as the three moved up the flight of stairs. Shego called Drakken as they were coming up;

"Alright Doc, I found him. Need a ride."

_"Coming down now, Shego. See you on the rooftop. Looks all clear from where I'm flying."_

XXX

**Demens Family Reunion**

**Berlin, Germany**

Dementor chuckled in the main dining room of his granduncle, who was hosting the reunion as he explained, "Und zhen I unleashed ze dachshunds upon ze accursed cheerleader an' ze friend she had boned to her."

"How'd that go?" Otto Demens asked, wearing a casual gray hoodie and pants. He had dressed up the least formally, but it seemed to Dementor that he was used to a different type of garb. There was a faint buzzing in his ear, but he ignored it. It was part of his plan.

"Vell, zhey vere held captive for a bit... zhen help showed up."

"Seems like you've been wasting potential, you could do so much more doing other things." Otto commented with a sigh. "Why waste your energies on such matters?"

"Because _I'm a villain,_ it's _tradition!_ Come on, zhis family has always challenged ze conventions of science, we built things such as ze _Electrostatic Illuminator_ in 1900!" He shook his head, pulling Myron from the schnitzel table next to where they were talking, "Now, look at Myron here. A new member of ze family by marriage, but he's adapted quite vell to ze mad science we dabble in."

Myron gave a slight grin, "Yeah, really odd, but doesn't Otto have a point? I mean, we could probably put Steve Jobs out of work with the stuff we have here..."

Dementor snorted. "Bah, he can go tangle with Microsoft and PC all he wants, I have more important matters to deal vith."

"Like Kim Possible?" Otto said, glancing left and right. "I got some... friends who could use a chat with her. If you think you could draw her in for them."

Dementor smiled cruelly, "In vhat shape?"

"Alive and as unharmed as can be done."

The smile faded from Dementor's face immediately. That wasn't fun. "Vhat do zhey want her for, anyways?"

"They haven't told me, they just said to mention it to you. They are offering a good reward for the help, however."

"I'll think on it." Dementor said as he considered it. Depending on the reward, it could be very worth it.

XXX

**Doctor Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

It was evening when they got back, but Hank was happy to see his cousin. The two hugged as they saw each other, Drakken and the other henchmen moving away to give them their space. Shego was standing next to Drakken as they looked at the schematics for _Project Patton_ they had taken from the base.

"I knew GJ had been toying with advanced military applications to technology in order to better engage things like Lil Diablo and had a few prototypes, but this is further than I thought they'd of gotten before it was wiped out by Warhok's walkers..."

"A nifty design, far as I can tell. It's a tank with a laser for a gun." Shego said with a shrug. "Think you can make anything out of it? Or want to?"

"Not for now, at least." Drakken answered, "Though really, I might just use the laser design for a Destructobot rather than build the actual tank. Still, not a bad springboard to work with and gives us a better idea of what GJ is capable of making with effort."

Shego nodded, "Well, least we have something GJ lost. Always counts for something, I guess. Your Blade Drones did pretty good, I'd say they did the most damage once close quarters started."

"Thank you, I'm still working on them but it's good to know they do their job well in their first few tests. Wish a few more survived besides 29-11, though."

"Sorry, I was busy at the time."

"It's alright. Come on, let's go see what Hank's going to deal for joining us on this caper."

XX

Down in the meeting room, Hank was waiting for them. Drakken noticed that he had a PDA in hand and smiled as they walked in. "Thank you, Doctor, I've made arrangements to keep Charles under the radar. He's willing to do some stuff around here and it should keep him safe from Hench trying his own stuff."

"What kind of skills does he have?" Drakken asked, "I'd like to know what I can safely task him with. Mad science and villainy don't mix with inexperience very well."

"He's a cook, so he'll probably just stick to making the meals for the henchmen. He has ice superpowers as well."

"Superpowers?" Shego asked, "How good?"

Hank shrugged, "It was why he had a run in with those PBD fellows. His powers accidently fired off and froze a fire hydrant. Not much of a big deal but they started badgering him about it. Never liked PBD or GJ, mostly for those kinds of reasons. I can see them trying to deal with, say, a villain, but a random guy who's trying to control his powers? Not so much."

"Where's Charles anyways?" Drakken asked, noticing he wasn't here.

"Getting something to eat and resting. He wasn't treated too horribly, but he'd rather catch his breath for a while. So, yes, I'm in."

"Good. Any contracts to sign or prices to pay?"

"I'll be charging a token fee, and a few bonuses if the scheme goes well. I normally charge more, but you did help me with my cousin."

Drakken nodded, glancing over as Hank handed over the contract, both in long and a summary. He gave it a glance over. _Hourly rate with a ten hour work day… not a big deal, he's mostly doing paperwork and overseeing henchmen seminars… fair sized bonus for a scheme gone well, fair enough, I'd like a cut of a scheme I made successful as well. A no cloning, mind control, being used as a test subject for serums, being required by contract to use a doomsday device of any kind himself clause or twenty…_ He pulled his pen out, "Honestly, Shego charged a harder contract… though I was able to slip a few unusual things in."

"Yeah, that scheme with hijacking Fist's ninjas wasn't one I liked…" Shego commented dryly, making Drakken wince as he remembered how the scheme failed. It had seemed so simple, give Monkey Fist a hint of information he'd be after is in the photo albumn owned by Kim's nana, then use mind control to steal the ninjas while the hairy freak was being beaten up. And in the end, it was foiled because the cheerleader slipped a prototypical sonic mine onto his mech's heat sink while it was discharging heat from being fired at her or the sidekick ripped out the wrong wires. He never quite got over how his scheme to claim Canada had failed… again. _This time it'll work,_ he swore silently.

He signed the contract, bringing himself back to the present from his journey down memory lane, and handed it to Shego along with the pen. She gave it a look over before signing it herself. Hank took it back and nodded, "As per the contract, I'll file this immediately." He paused, "Speaking of that, your filing cabinets are in the same place as before, correct?"

"No, moved them to the secondary office since I needed room in my main one for…" and, suddenly, the flowers popped back up around his neck again. Growling, he ripped them off and finished his sentence, "…an incinerator."

Hank nodded, "Well, I can file them later. So, what's the next plan in the scheme?"

"Frugal Lucre." Drakken said, "We need him. I'm not doubting your abilities, Hank, but he's going to be a second opinion."

"What a shame, with that common sense you'd of made a decent business man. So, what do you need for that? Contact made?"

"Information. He's currently in Cell Block D, along with a bunch of other villains." Shego explained, "We need information. You think you can get it?"

"Easily. I can get rough numbers just by checking shipping manifests to the facility and maybe even give you an idea of what they're packing. It may take a day or two, though."

"Go ahead, better to do it right. Nothing hurts a scheme in the making more than time in the slammer courtesy of the feds," Shego commented with folded arms. "Had enough of that after Lil Diablo."

Hank nodded, "So which was is the secondary office again?"

XX

As Drakken showed Hank to the office, talking amiably with the man, Shego watched them go and glanced at the pile of dossiers again. They were missing something in their current plan… supers. _PBD and GJ aren't making a big deal out of it for nothing, I know that personally. I'm part of why they are,_ she thought as she started looking through the dossiers. She needed a super who could keep very independent people in line for when she couldn't be bothered to. A super… or a magic user. Either would work for her, as long as they didn't try anything to double cross her and could keep other supers in line with more than just an established chain of command.

"Hmmm…" she said as she looked over one detailing a man who had no natural magical talent or superpowers, but gained magical abilities through some set of old rituals he unearthed after a long amount of time searching, including a theft from the Smithsonian. What made him distinct was that he had organized several different sets of henchmen to keep him covered when PBD attempted to respond to the theft with force, and he'd hired henchmen who were former thugs of broken up gangs and didn't respect authority of those who couldn't beat them down… at the time, at least. Since then he was a fairly tough fighter and held those who stayed on in line. She smiled as she saw notes in his record. Hench was wary to deal with him because he preferred non-HenchCo sources to his henchmen issues, but hadn't made any major power plays since he got his power… at least, known power plays. He occasionally did some dirty work as a super-for-hire, but otherwise was relatively quiet.

_Sounds like my type of minion. Simple in desire, easy to manipulate, but isn't a sniveling sycophant,_ she thought as she continued to peruse his dossier, finding his location and name. Ryan Ginner, whose location was in the Austrian Alps. And currently having issues with three men named Burn Burnmen, Crash Cranston, and Dash Deman working for Global Justice. Team Impossible was properly back in the scene, it seemed, and just in time to see a real fighter rip them apart. Again.

XX

"So, what _is_ with the flowers, Doctor?" Hank asked curiously. He had heard the stories, but he hadn't heard a reliable source.

"That… yes," he said with a sigh as more pedals popped up. "Well, the alien attack. Days before it, I had a super high-pollinator device all ready, then Kim Possible hit the lair when I was testing it. There was an accident because of the naked weasel thing and I got slathered in my mutagen. After that… this." He grit his teeth, "Funnily enough, when I was working to _save the world_," the way he said it gave Hank the impression of it feeling like fingernails on a chalkboard, "it allowed me to destroy almost all of the alien walkers. After that, well… history."

It was taking all of Hank's suspension of disbelief to keep himself from laughing loudly at it. He had known that he'd find odd jobs as a temp, but the world he was introduced into when he was contracted by Drakken's villainously-hired temp as second temp had forced him to reevaluate his look into the world. What he thought was once a fairly concrete world with the occasional strangeness has been transformed in one small job into a world where villains put the world in jeopardy on a nearly weekly basis. One where a pubescent cheerleader could not only foil those schemes but do it better than some special forces could. A world that had aliens dropping out of space because one of them happened to intercept a scene of _American Starmaker_ and somehow connected it to prophecy or whatever. He knew some would of just believed it all a figment of imagination, and he couldn't blame anyone who did. But he had embraced it, embraced the possibilities.

"So," Drakken asked curiously as Hank set to work filing the contract away, "You really don't have problems with this?"

"It's a job, and all things considered you're pretty good in comparison to the alternatives."

"True," Drakken admitted. "Better we're competent than Dementor or Gemini..."

"Not who I meant." he said as a hover car lifted off out the window. Hank paid it no mind, "So, who's the lead henchman around here? I need to speak with him or her and start organizing some training seminars."

"Like the ones you used last time?"

"Very similar at first, but later shifts to more in-action work. They were definitely competent when it came time to fight, but some better combat training would help. I've taken a few courses since then to give some experience, but I would like to branch out to find a more competent instructor."

Drakken shrugged, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Anyways, aren't you supposed to be getting us data on Cell Block D?"

"I am, this is just scheduling."

"Ah," Drakken nodded. "Right then, I'll be in my lab if you need me."

XX

**Five Hours Later**

**Austrian Alps**

Shego set the hover car down gently into the courtyard. She glanced at the GPS and nodded; she was right where she wanted to be. It was going to be a relatively simple operation, she expected. Go in, beat the daylights out of Team Impossible, make this Ryan Ginner join her. The lair was a stone building built into the mountainside. It had a courtyard surrounded by castle like walls with high crenellations to prevent people from falling out yet was still low enough for someone to shoot a weapon between, and the actual lair was built into the mountain itself with only a door to the exterior of the mountainside. All in all, it was a respectable place to live.

She hopped out of the hover car, glad that this time she was able to layer before coming. Besides her regular outfit which was worn under, she'd slipped on a black coat which was designed for the worst winter conditions and wore a helmet over it considering that she might have an accident or be forced to go mountaineering. She glanced around the courtyard. "No guards..." she whispered to herself with a frown. She expected at least some guards to be around as she walked towards the door.

When she got to it, however, she found her explanation. The door had been forced open with a charge and shut most of the way afterwards. The lock was reduced to scrap metal from a small shaped charge and the rest of the door was covered in small scorch marks. She pushed the door open and lit her plasma, spotting several henchmen carrying pistols lying unconscious along the corridor. The odor of knockout gas assaulted her and she had a funny feeling that one of two different groups had just hit the place. Fortunately, the knockout gas had diluted at that point and she didn't have to worry about it other than a little bit of lightheadedness.

The inside of the lair looked like a standard European castle interior with some more modern steel beams being used to support the stone architecture. A set of paintings and tapestries, all old but well maintained, lined the walls as she moved through, ready to react to anyone who tried to attack her. There were doors, but they were all sealed and locked. Glancing into their glass windows told her what was inside though. Barracks with several bunk beds, storage rooms, and at least one mess hall.

She came to a set of spiral stairs that lead down and could hear gunshots. She glanced down and spotted Team Impossible. The African American member, Dash, was hurling the henchman with a M1911 into the wall while the redhead Burn cleared the weapon and unloaded it in a single, fluid move. Crash pulled out a device that looked like electric tongs and applied it to the next lock, burning the lock and with a bang followed by a flash of electricity, the door swung open. Shego leapt down the stairs, kicking Dash in the back as the three charged into the next room. Dash recovered and the three Team Impossible members regrouped on the other side.

"What was that?" Crash asked angrily.

"It's Shego, Drakken's mercenary!" Burn growled as the three took up positions. The room that Shego entered was a rectangular corridor, easily ten meters wide and thirty long. There were rows of columns with unusual inscriptions and runes lining the walls and a blue carpet crossed the middle, but otherwise the room was bare. The three mercenaries were facing her now.

"Come on," Dash said, scowling at her, "We took out her boss no problem, we can take her."

Shego snorted. "Please, you lost to Kimmie, and she's not as good as I am."

"So how come you always lose?" Dash retorted.

"Exactly," Crash said before Shego could respond and leapt towards her. Shego sidestepped his flying kick, throwing a punch towards him. He blocked and the two traded blows for a few moments as Burn came up on her flank. Shego grappled Crash's arm and threw him towards the redhead accountant, knocking the two into the wall.

Dash leapt in, and proved to be a better fighter than the other two, holding his own for a little longer. He struck hard and fast, using his muscle to his advantage, but she managed to prevent him from overpowering her blocks and hit him in the face with a plasma charged punch, knocking him clean out.

"Really," Shego said with a dismissive snort, "Small wonder that princess can school you. I didn't even break a sweat." She dusted off as she walked past the three 'mercenaries', wondering just how incompetent everyone was for them to be able to win yet still lose quickly to Kim _in their own home base_. She continued through the room and opened the door at the end. Inside was a man in a leather jacket with a sword sheathed on his back wearing loose cargo pants. He looked up at her with his long face, his medium length brown hair hanging loosely and matted as he reached for his sword, blinking and small bits of energy forming at his hands, likely to charge magic. "Keep is sheathed," Shego told him, keeping her plasma off. "I'm not here to fight you. I just dealt with the three so-called professionals who were trying to break into your lair."

"What do you want, Shego?" he asked, "Breaking into the home of _Ryan Ginner_ is one of the stupidest..."

"If I was trying to break in, I'd of hit you rather than try to talk to you, but your henchmen were lazy and let _Team Impossible_, of all people, break in."

Ryan grit his teeth, then nodded. "Alright then. What do you want?"

"Your skills at organizing. I'm going to be recruiting quite a few supers, and I want someone who can keep them at the same page for me so I can focus on the grand scheme."

"What's in it for me?"

"Power from the scheme working and the rank you'd hold in the subsequent order, a good pay, room and board, as well as a chance to peruse some other data storage that Doctor D has."

"You have me at power." Ryan said, grinning greedily, "You're someone who I think can bring power... but before I join you, I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?"

"There is a man named Mannichus being held within Cell Block D, in the Tri-City area of the United States. He was to be responsible for an augmentation to help improve my power, but then Global Justice decided to, with their heads up their ass in their so-called righteousness, arrest him on flimsy charges. Free him and see him here safely, and I'll give you the help you're looking for when I've gained my new power."

Shego nodded slowly. _He's the power type, just like the dossier said. Should be easy to manipulate that lust to my own ends._ She figured that it was better that his desires were more base than specific. It would make her job that much easier and his schemes, if he plotted to backstab her for more power, would be relatively easy to spot and then dismantle. "It's a deal then."

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go clean up the damage made by the incompetents..."

"Right. I'll contact you when your pal's rescued."

XXX

**Florida**

"Nana!" Kim exclaimed as she found her grandmother in the bed, knitting calmly. She looked up and smiled as the rain gently pattered onto the window.

"Oh, Kimberly, it's so good to see you! Where's James?"

"He's coming up, had to talk with the doctor about something."

Nana Possible nodded, putting down her knitting. She still looked strong even with being hospitalized. "Well, I have to admit I'm surprised. I didn't expect you to be along, young lady. Where's Ronald, anyways? The gossip is abuzz with theories, so many outlandish."

Kim shook her head, "Can't say Nana, other than its dealing with what he used on the walkers."

"Ah," Nana said with a nod that seemed too knowing for Kim's comfort. "Good, good. He shouldn't be relying on instinct with that kind of power, it'll only get someone hurt. Like you, or the most recent addition to his family."

Memories of Hana's abilities told Kim otherwise. If anyone was going to get hurt around Hana, it was going to be Ron or whoever was babysitting her.

"There's something I need to tell you, Kimberly." Nana cut in, interrupting the thoughts, "But you have to promise to keep it secret from your father... from everyone except maybe Ronald."

"What?" Kim asked, a new worry gnawing at her from the suddenly grave tone.

"When I was a few years older than you, I was learning the art of _Peng Lang Chaung_ kung fu in western Tibet, on the border of western China, or what was western China at the time. I learned it under a man named Master Pai, he told me of a secret you have had encounters with. I recognized them in the newspapers on the break in you thwarted, and one of Master Pai's students told me of your other missions in this, and that you knew of the Conclave. Kimberly, many those men and women have drifted away from their originally noble goal of simply protecting those without magic from its powers and working to allow us to grow to an even footing. They've taken the parental view, like that of the so-called white man's burden, in regards to us, and have become arrogant in their powers. They believe in what glimpses of the _possible_ future they can get from magic."

"I know, I've handled them and met some of the more sane members." Kim answered, taking care not to mention Sensei by name. "I'm not afraid of them."

"You should be... Kimberly, do you know just why I had completed the Navy's Underwater Demolition Training?"

"No..." Kim said, she _never_ was told exactly why. All she knew was that it was for something.

"It was part of a task force formed during Vietnam. There were several people in it... all young, but they were chosen because of unique talents or, shall I say... unusual circumstances they found themselves in. We were the predecessor to Global Justice... Betty Director and her brother, Sheldon, were part of our squad. At least until Sheldon betrayed us to form his little villain group. We were the Operation 404. You wouldn't hear mention of us, it was completely under the radar and most of the files are probably still classified. I was recruited for my study of _Peng Lang Chuang_... do you know what the form is most well known for?"

Kim shook her head. She just knew of its name and a few of the moves that Nana had employed, not its specifics.

"It's a form that was focused on the disruption of magical abilities... and that could be applied to dealing with supers. Unarmed strikes which disorients someone and keeps them from using their powers. Kim, you've done well without it, but I'm asking you to at least consider learning it. Master Pai is still alive... but I can't tell you where he is unless you swear to keep it secret. He's one man who I would trust above the others. I need to know that you'll have someone you can talk to in order to better understand the Conclave safely."

"Don't say that, you can teach me yourself, can't you? I'll have time off from college in the summer, and things should have simmered down by then..."

Nana Possible chuckled, smiling, "Oh, Kimberly... you're so brave, but it's alright. I knew this would be coming someday." She coughed into her hand, clearing her throat. "It's just sooner than I expected. Now then..."

XXX

XXX

Doctor James Timothy Possible walked into the room, seeing Kim and Nana conversing as Nana was showing her new sewing pattern, shaped like a Lotus.

"It's beautiful," Kim commented, before turning as he walked in. "Hey dad."

"Hey, that looks like my old pillowcase's design..." he said with a slight smile as he felt himself launched back to childhood's memories.

"Yes..." Nana said fondly, "I thought that Kimberly might like to pass it on. I know you wanted to, James, but there are some things that only a mother could pass down." She chuckled warmly as James blushed. The twins (who had to go to the bathroom when Kim was heading up) came in. It was a small family gathering now, right and proper except for his wife. Even that didn't dull the moment though.

XXX

XXX

XXX

XXX

**End Chapter**

*** Happy Halloween, and here's a chapter for a treat. Sorry, no tricks.**

*** On the PBD mesh into GJ, I decided that when I conceived PBD the idea was nice and had a nice ring to it, they overlapped with GJ. While my original explanation of PBD being the actual peacekeepers while GJ was to be the hero-side lure of a planned GJ/WEE artificial 'war' to keep supers busy was nice, I decided that the plotline needed to be wrapped, so that'll be a good chunk of the focus next chapter. PBD basically folds into GJ and GJ actually starts being used properly like GDI in **_**C&C**_**. It also ties nicely into one of the pre-chapter quotes about one problems was the departmental differences of GJ/PBD. I think I might elaborate on the founding of GJ at one point; part of why I made mention of "Operation 404". Nana Possible's adventures is a plot bunny for certain, so I might as well leave a little ground work for a spin off fic.**

*** So yeah... Shego's take over the world scheme. I was debating on how to begin it. Should I explain the plan, or wait for the classic "This is why"? When telling a story from multiple perspectives you get a lot of this. I decided to take a middle course. Specifics will be given in the classic way, but the overarching goal would be stated at the start.**

*** Ah, Hank Perkins... the two shot wonder. Originally a temp, then when he comes back he makes henchmen a competent threat towards Kim. I think I wind up using the competence level of the guys he trained as my across-the-board reference for this fic. They can threaten the hero (or villain), but still get the daylights beaten out of them.**

*** I actually did some research to find "**_**Peng Lang Chuang"**_** kung fu. Far as I could tell (though I may of missed it), it was just a style created for a brief one-off reference, so I decided 'why not make it an anti-magic style?'. Hey, if in KP Monkey Kung Fu is loaded with magic, why wouldn't there be a style of **_**anti**_** magic?**

*** Take over the world. Goal of a lot of villains. Most of them don't even half consider the implications or challenges of **_**maintaining**_** control that doesn't include mass mind control. Taking over is the easy part. Making it work long-run is the hard one. The world **_**ain't small**_**. If all it took to take over somewhere was to march in, then the Philippines at the turn of the twentieth century, Vietnam in the Cold War, and the modern War on Terror wouldn't of taken that long to resolve and would of been either US victories (in the case of Vietnam) or would of been much easier (IE, the Philippines).**

**XXX**

**-=Document Recovery: Otto Demens' Research Paper=-**

_Original Source: Conclave Archives (Blake Castle)_

_Research Paper: On Necromantic Animation and It's Possibilities_

_By: Otto Demens_

_ The theory of necromantic animation has, for a long time, been dismissed as impossible. The reasoning behind this was that the maintenance of self-awareness sufficient to act independently has always required a more powerful source of magic nearby. Such sources are difficult to place within the body of a human, even posthumously, and many found it was easier to simply built constructs such as golems for this purpose. However, analysis of the requirements of self-awareness, retaining integrity and energy, and finally being bound to a master while placed within a normal deceased body has yielded a new possibility using already established methods and magics._

_ The requirement of the concept of undead is that a body is animated to serve the master's will, taking the bodies of deceased opponents, allies, volunteers, or neutral victims as a recycling material. While very limited necromancy is currently accepted as possible, the magic quickly burns out the residual energies left behind in a deceased person's corpse, and channeling additional energy into such is a costly process for the magic user, leaving this option of limited viability. Reanimation using these conventional magics is also impossible without first adding sufficient energy to give this magic a foothold. However, due to the human body lacking natural receptacles to store such magics after death means that the energy quickly dissipates._

_ The issue of energy is the main problem, and such can be solved by using a current source. While it is concluded that bodies animated by magically grafting construct parts and a core are workable, they are also considered constructs and not undead. To meet the standard of undead, however, comes a new answer. Vulnari. Vulnari have long since been summoned and all vulnari have a core of negative energies within them; the energy manipulated by those using the necromancy school of magic. The vulnari have been bound before, and have been used as power sources for some magical cores and reactors before, providing long term power with only enough magic to control them and leave them docile being required._

_ Research into the devising of these cores reveals that these magical cores actually incorporate these vulnari into their superstructure by a process of magical fusion. This fusion, combined with binding enchantments which the combined core fuels as well as providing magical energy, could theoretically be used on a human body. By using the human body as the superstructure and tying the vulnari, source of the power for the cores mentioned before, to it in a feedback loop enchantment, could theoretically work. And this is as the most primitive, further research could yield more effective ways. While such magical cores are known to decay, basic preservative magics, including those used in preserving bodies by magic-using morticians, can be used to prevent this._

_ In conclusion, while conventional wisdom states that the concept of proper undead is impossible and the closest to achieve would be more comparable to a construct, there are methods that exist to create the undead as conceived in stories. These methods are not as simple and direct as the non-magical population would expect, but they are present and possible. With the innovation occurring in the non-magical population, the chance of one of these innovators having both the magical ability and interest increases. Further research and experimentation in regards to this magic may be wise on a strictly volunteer basis given the moral concerns of necromancy, even if it is only the body affected by the magics._

_Notes of the Instructor, Fredrick von Vage_

_ Otto's piece was done as extra credit due to a failing grade in his casting tests. His dedication is considerable, even if abridged in this copy for the archives. The fact that he chose to write out a thesis of how undeath is possible is worrying, given that he is indeed accurate even if he does not plan on perusing such research. Animation is possible using the vulnari as a catalyst, and then fusing the creature into a human corpse with the normal routine of binding wards plus additional control wards to the undead creature. Fortunately most of the knowledge in regards to this was destroyed, but this theorem should be locked tightly, but held as a reminder that it is possible to innovate and recover such lost knowledge._

**-=End Document=-**


	20. Chapter 20: File Not Found

_"There are times when I think GJ should of taken off the kid's gloves... I mean, I hate killing as much as Kim does, but there are some guys that GJ wasted time stunning and arresting that should of just gotten what they deserved, ya'know? Sure, I love stun weapons for non-lethal takedowns as far as petty crime and riots just gone bad go, but when you get to armed insurgency like the OFI fanatics? Why bother, they're pretty much committing treason and firing on their countries' soldiers. The French, of all people, went straight to lethal when they showed up for crying out loud..."_

- Ron Stoppable, questioning GJ's kid gloves approach in the regards of some supers, as recorded in his _Liber Memoriarum_.

_"General Malta, we have gained intelligence from a mutant, ex GJ soldier or something to that effect after the mess down near West Brunswick, who broke away that Gil Moss is organizing his party to strike the Tri-City Water Treatment plant to inject a mutagenic sludge into the water supplies after the secondary treatment process. The mutant does not know dates or exactly what will be used, but the facility must be improved defensively. It's a sitting duck right now and if Gill attacks with Possible currently wounded and considered mission killed, it'll be down to us. Doctor Lurkin has succeeded in providing a large supply of antidote, so even if it does get into the water supplies we should be able to minimize effects... still, tactical analysis indicates it would be better if we do not allow it happen in the first place."_

- A report to General Adrian Malta in Upperton, concerning Gill's upcoming attack on the Tri City Water Treatment plant, forgotten in the events of the Kepler rocket incident... and soon to provide the first test of the forming Taskforce 404.

**Chapter 20: File Not Found**

**August 7th, 2007**

**(Ex) PBD Firebase Alternate-1**

"World's in great shape." Malta commented dryly as his screen brought up the world and focused in on the Middle East. "We've got tensions in the Middle East as terrorist groups are taking advantage of the damage from the alien invasion to make headways and undo a few years worth of work, and the Israelis are getting itchy to go overkill in order to stop it. Can't blame the sentiment after the Wall nearly got destroyed..." The screen switched to America, "We've got religious zealots calling themselves 'Order of Faith's Inquisition' having some infighting as ultra-conservatism starts clashing with the guys who just wanted keep their families safe from mad science, and a good chunk of the American Midwest at risk from it..."

"Just another day in the office, sir." said the British SAS soldier who'd been selected to join the group, Lieutenant Henry "Ghast" Patel. He didn't so much have super_powers_ as he did a super _stench_, even after scrubbing for hours he couldn't get rid of the smell coming from his upbringing in a marsh, which was only intensified after Selection. Either way, he was an excellent woodsman fighter, just the kind of guy to track down escaped supers. "What else?"

Malta switched the focus to southern Japan as the noise of construction for the base's switch from PBD to GJ picked up again, "The Global Justice lab in Japan is busy fighting off a WEE strike..."

"Non-issue at the moment, sir, the base is heavily fortified." Will Du added in. Will was insisted to become part of Taskforce 404 by Doctor Director, and Malta decided to let him in since he had started developing military competence and would, if nothing else, be a good liaison. "Gemini will find the defenses far superior to most Global Justice bases. He's failed to make headway before and he'll fail again."

"But that's not the real bad news, is it sir?" Giles Summers (Junior) commented as he folded his arms. "We've got another recruit."

Malta nodded, "Indeed we do. Global Justice is sending a team to try and quell the actions of the OFI in Kentucky and pick up some defectors, and we're going to be working with Captain Edwin Barkin's unit to bring the region to some sense of peace."

"Relation to the school teacher here?" asked the team's combat medic, a Greek woman named Hera 'Cleaver' Lease that was a PBD soldier previously.

"His nephew. There's a lone marine being attached to the captain's unit in the interim until he's picked up by us, and we're going to meet him there."

"Who is he, sir?" Patel asked.

"Sergeant Paul 'Reggie' Generation, a marine who's recently been discovered to have regenerative superpowers." Malta answered, bringing up an image of the African-American marine with a clean shaven face and extremely short hair, "He was exposed to nuclear waste from a terrorist bombing in Iraq. The bomb itself wasn't actually nuclear, but the dealer who sold it had covered it in irradiated material as a cheap fake for a nuclear weapon for some nutcase who decided he wanted to become free floating hydrogen and wanted company while doing it. The radiation killed off most of the squad, and the doctors believe that it had somehow given him the regenerative powers he now possesses." Four years ago, he'd of never believed he'd say those words with a straight face. Now, it had almost become another day in the office. It still didn't stop astounding him how things were, however, compared to what he grew up knowing.

Will whistled as estimates of how good he could regenerate came up. "Correct me if I am wrong, General, but would Sergeant Generation's powers be comparable to the comic book character Wolverine?"

"Same idea, watered down a lot." Giles said as the estimates came onto the screen, "Still bloody handy. When're we moving out?"

"As soon as possible. Once we have him, we'll be gearing up for our first test against a meta-human encounter."

"Gil Moss, sir?" Will asked. He'd seen the report as it was passed onto him by Doctor Director.

"Yes." Malta said, "He's getting ready for something, and we're going to stop it. Gear up, we're going to Kentucky."

XXX

**Doctor Drakken's Mobile Lair**

**Lowerton, Colorado**

Shego shook her head as the image of Cell Block D came up. Hank had done his work quickly, and they were ready to stage the break out. It had turned out that Cell Block D was seeing a major overhaul as Global Justice effectively replaced PBD force. _Smart, unifying their branches. Too bad they chose the incompetent of the two. PBD wasn't very good, sure, but it at least operated better than GJ._ She knew GJ had abilities to field competence, primarily in the form of their _Specter_ agents or heroes they had on call, but in general they were the worst of the two groups. The problem was that Global Justice was, in its usual high-mindedness, gutting the facility and replacing everything. This meant new contractors, and Hank had been able to set up a temporary front company with Drakken's help, which they would use to slip in several henchmen, while she and Drakken would be shipped into the facility in crates.

"I gotta hand it to you, using 'Mister Potty' as a company again was a bold move," she finally said. "I would of figured GJ would remember it after that cloning stunt you tried to pull."

"Yeah well, last time the cover wasn't composting toilets." he said with a shrug, "Even villains need to be green, and it's a lot greener than septic tanks. Besides, that was over four years ago and they've easily forgotten and I'm not stamping myself onto the logo again."

"If you say so. Just to be sure, we're basically hiding in where the waste would be dumped?"

"Yes, but it won't be installed before we're moving out, don't worry. If it is, well, hope that they don't open it and keep to the edges." Drakken inhaled sharply, realizing how... _dirty_ such a situation would be. "But don't worry, while the supposed installation is going on we'll make our move. Frugal Lucre is being held in cell number D-138."

"What about others? I figure we might as well use this chance to break as many allies as we can out as we can," Shego asked as she pointed to the map, "If nothing else it could give us cover for getting out. More GJ has to deal with, the less likely it is they'll chase us once we're leaving. And we might be able to pick up some new recruits as well, like that Jon Ordai fellow."

Drakken nodded, "Yes, this might be a good recruitment chance... but if we play it the wrong way, it might put a bull's eye on our backs."

"We've handled that before. The real thing that'd screw this plan would be princess showing up... not that I'd mind fighting her again. I've been getting bored."

Perkins cleared his throat, "Uh, miss, I have word on that, actually."

"Oh?" Drakken asked, "What do you have on Kim Possible?"

"She was spotted down in Florida, visiting the Blue Sea Medical Center near _Chez Leisure._"

Shego perked up. _Nana Possible?_ "Why?"

"Her grandmother, from what my informant says. Natural causes are taking course, and Kim is there visiting with her brothers and father. No word on Ron Stoppable, however."

"Perfect," Drakken said with a grin, "The sidekick is so far out of town he won't be able to get close either. The set up is perfect now for us to win."

"It is," Shego admitted as she folded her arms, "But it's going to be a boring round. I don't think GJ has any _Specter_ agents here, and those aren't nearly as fun to fight as Kim is."

"If you're looking for excitement, there's always the new _Telthor_ mechs that GJ has put in to try and stop further breakouts," Drakken pointed out. "Anyways, we got the plan, time to get it going, don't you think?"

Shego nodded. "Alright, let's get this underway. Truck ready?"

"Bob's driving."

"Let's do this."

XXX

**Camp Longbow**

**Northern Kentucky**

Paul 'Reggie' Generation sighed as he sat on the bed. He'd been in army bases before, but never attached to an army unit. He was a _marine_, it was their job to make things _safe_ for the regular army. Or at least that was what his unit has always said. And now his unit was dead or crippled for the most part, leaving just him to go join something weird until the survivors recovered. And all because he happened to get something weird himself.

"Sergeant," came the voice of a man at the door. Paul stood up, saluting. It was Captain Edwin Barkin, who returned the salute.

"Sir." He answered as the two lowered it.

"Suit up, marine, we're Oscar-Mike. I want you at the armory by 1100, we're getting some odd toys."

"Yes sir."

The captain nodded and walked out, leaving Paul to his work. He glanced at his locker and pulled it open and looked at the outfit inside. It wasn't his original uniform, but it was marine standard and his helmet had been cleared as safe for use again. He pulled it on over the casual fatigues he'd been wearing, he had ten minutes to get down there. Glancing in the mirror within, he removed his left glove, grabbed his combat knife from the uniform and pricked his palm in a thin, shallow line. The sharp pain hurt for a moment before training kicked in to make him ignore it as it wasn't serious and he watched what happened

It started quickly, the bleeding slowing down rapidly and leaving just a red line where he'd made the cut within eight or so seconds, then it seemed to do nothing until the fortieth second. At that point, slowly, the wound began to close. By the minute mark, the wound was fully healed and, this time, it healed right. He hadn't been so lucky earlier shaving where he had to prick it open a few times to make it heal correctly. Shaking his head, amazed at his new abilities, he wiped the knife off and sheathed it, grabbing his Kevlar armor and putting that on before grabbing his helmet and walking out of the barracks he'd been assigned to, grabbing one of the ration bars and chewing it down quickly. He still didn't know why he was always hungry after regenerating.

Down at the armory he saw other soldiers hurrying over, rifles in hand. He hadn't been given a new rifle, though he'd been in the range a few times as part of his rehabilitation. The armory was located next to the range for ease of use, and he walked in. Four dozen soldiers were milling about, Paul's eyes immediately being drawn to a rack of rifles that were _not_ standard military issue. They shined and had a dark finish, the ends covered in a red finish. But the color wasn't what really got his attention: the ends of the rifle had what looked like some sort of sci-fi emitter, and instead of a normal ammunition feed it had what looked to him like batteries. Under the main barrel was what looked like a second emitter, where a bayonet would normally be mounted. Soldiers were murmuring about the rifles.

"Are those what I think they are?"

"Wait we get fricken lasers now?"

"They jack it from the aliens?"

"Psh. Those walkers couldn't be alien, could they?"

"Quiet, the Captain's about to talk."

Indeed he was, clearing his throat. "Well men, its 1100 and now I can tell you what's going on. We're being sent into a small town called Brookfield, about thirty clicks southwest. We're going to be joining some Global Justice in doing some peacekeeping involving a fight between OFI, OFI breakaways who turned to Global Justice for help, and we're going to be getting some help from spec-ops types which Sergeant Generation here's to be part of."

"Global Justice, sir?" asked Sergeant Erik Luce before catching himself, "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Granted."

"Tell me you're joking. I thought they were just some front so we looked like we were doing something in regards to that crazy shit like Lil Diablo when really the Air Force got the budget again."

"I wish I was." He answered, "But the weird things like Lil Diablo are just the tip of the iceberg. There's far weirder things out there, and I'm not even sure how it was kept under wraps."

_I wonder who's been telling him…_ Paul wondered. The name 'Barkin' sounded familiar from elsewhere, but he couldn't place where he'd heard it before. He cleared his throat, "Captain, what are these rifles?"

"Ah, glad you asked." The captain nodded to one of the privates who'd been assigned to armory duty. "Sergeant Generation, come up here."

Paul walked up as a rifle was taken from the rack and given to him. It felt light, lighter than a normal rifle, but bulkier. It felt odd in his hands, it felt like it was part of another world compared to the usual lead firing rifles he used. The rifle had iron sights but lacked ACOG or any other attachments, much to his disappointment as he always liked the M203 grenade launcher as a weapon. There was an unusual setting changer near the safety that he didn't touch as Barkin continued, "This is the GJA-13 'Diamond Back' _energy_ rifle." He paused a moment as a murmur went through the group. "I know what you're thinking, 'what kind of sci-fi crap is this'? Well, it's real. Sergeant, I'd like you to show them how it's used. Take the rifle to the range and get a feel for it, we're to get rid of our disbelief here. I'll put up some targets."

"Yes sir." He took the rifle, carefully to observe gun safety and keeping it pointed up as he carried it into the range. The other soldiers were issued their rifles and followed him out, watching as he started experimenting. He did not take the safety off nor pull the trigger, but he did look down the sights. It was a very conventional rifle for something using lasers (or, as the Captain had put it, _energy_) as ammunition. The firing instructor gave him a nod and ordered the range to be kept clear before giving him a go to fire.

He lined up the sights with one of the targets on the top of a pole and took the safety off, pulling the trigger once. With a soft _blam_, a bolt of blue energy sped at the target and hit it, the energy buzzing across it before vanishing.

"_That's it?_" one of the soldiers said before he could contain himself, unimpressed.

"Set to kill, Sergeant." Barkin said. "That was a stun shot, what we're going to be using."

There was a murmur of discontent about being limited to stun, and Paul didn't blame them. Being limited by kid gloves was something that often became bloody for those wearing them.

"Now show them what a killing round would do." Barkin ordered.

Paul nodded, adjusting the changer he'd seen earlier and lined up a shot with the same target. He took the shot, and on impact the target was burned, the paint vanishing in a flash of smoke which rose from the target, the metal behind the target charred by the hit. A series of shocked gasps and cheers came from the crowd as they realized they really were being given something genuine. He looked down at the rifle, shocked. It had defied most convention he had worked with before, yet here it was: A working laser rifle.

"Sir… where did we get these?" Paul asked, setting it back to stun and putting the safety on.

"A fellow named Brigadier General Malta provided them to us for usage in this peacekeeping operation rather than the usual FN 303 because it's lethality is considerably lessoned while on stun. It also has an energy bayonet, but that was disabled because of the non-lethal nature of our next op. They're apparently standard issue amongst Global Justice, along with a shotgun variant which you might get a chance to see and a few sniper variants that're being provided to our sniper team once we get there. We might see the pistol variant issued to officers if this Malta fellow is on the ground." Barkin explained with a slight scowl. "I'm not certain why they've been prioritized the rifles, but they're extremely useful in non-lethal takedowns, but we've been provided with them for the duration. We have to be en route by 1200, so that leaves you about twenty minutes to get acquainted with these rifles. No more than three clips to expend into the range each, and you have about forty shots per mag."

He received a chorus of affirmatives and the soldiers began to take their places in the range. The soldiers quickly realized that the rifle wasn't all it seemed to be. It was a good weapon and they were able to figure it out quickly, but it had irritating recoil and was bulkier than they usually used even if it was lighter. They didn't appreciate the ammunition either, they couldn't carry as many clips as they usually could without getting rid of other equipment, and it was insisted they all carry flash bang grenades.

XX

**Tri-City Penitentiary Facility**

**AKA, "Cell Block D"**

**Outside of Upperton, Colorado**

"I'm sorry, _what_?" the GJ guard asked the driver.

"Composting toilets. Look, I just got a note from the boss saying you ordered a bunch for the facility, I'm here to deliver."

"Alright, calm down," the guard responded, "I need to check in with my boss."

It didn't take long, and the brief 'worry' Shego had that the entire plan would switch to plan B (just blasting through the entire place) proved unfounded. The truck drove on again until it reached the drop off, at which point the crates (and collecting bins of the composting toilets within those crates) were carried to the storage facility. It was a bumpy ride, even with the henchmen being careful. Finally, after about five minutes of being moved around, it came to an end. Shego lit her plasma to give her light enough to see, opening the hatch and cutting the crate open. The fresh air came in and she pulled the portable oxygen device she had off. It kept them from falling unconscious in the crates, but it was a difficult to wear design.

A vine poked out from another crate and the entire thing fell open, Drakken groaning as he pulled his mask off and the vines retracted. "Ya'know, I think the plants might like this method of transportation… _after_ use. Anyways, we're in."

Shego nodded, "Let's find Lucre and start the jailbreak then. First thing we need is a computer."

"Probably in the floors above, the recordings Hank gave us showed what looked like offices."

She nodded and the two crept to the exit, Shego glancing out the window briefly to see no GJ guards. Drakken glanced at the camera, then nodded. The hack they hired, some kid named Eugene, had done his job. _If only he knew he worked for a supervillain for a bit,_ she thought with amusement before opening the door and the two crept up the stairs. At the top they came to a halt as they heard a pair of GJ guards coming by, talking.

"You hear about that dead guy we got?"

"Mannichus? Yeah, freaky dude. Glad we put him behind bars."

"They even requisitioned the prototype sapper gauntlets to contain him."

"Don't blame 'em, he's a super with some weird necro powers."

"Least he doesn't raise zombies, eh?"

"I prefer my zombie mayhem to be Three, not Two. Flamethrowers, ya'know?"

The two guards walked laughing by without noticing the two villains, and they continued on by the hallway they'd come from. They found the office door they were looking for at the end of the hallway and opened the door.

"Shego, I thought you had broken... NOT THE FACE!" the bureaucrat on the computer said in horror as he stood up and stumbled back before Shego punched him out with one hit square to his jaw. The desk jockey hit the desk with a dull thud, face remaining there. Drakken pushed him aside and let him slump to the floor, accessing the terminal.

"Jackpot," Drakken said as he found the appropriate data up, "I'm in. I've got the entire prison manifest. Prisoners, guards, the works. There's four mechs and a single hovercraft on standby to deal with any riots, all with stun-locked lasers and the hovercraft has a few tear gas bombs to drop."

"You take care of freeing Lucre, I'll take out the hovercraft and break out some other cells. The more the merrier."

"Helipad is behind the main cell block, and the control to Lucre's is at the top of that building, one of the rooftop cells. I'll let you know when I've got him."

"If you hear a loud explosion, that's my handiwork. See you after, Doc."

He nodded and continued his database search as she walked out.

XX

**Brookfield, Kentucky**

Paul groaned as he came to his senses, a man in a blue uniform with a mostly bald head and wearing dark glasses standing over him holding an energy pistol of sorts. He looked down at Paul and pulled him onto his feet, "On your feet soldier!"

He nodded as the man handed him his energy rifle. He glanced down to where he'd taken a rifle hit to the shoulder. The bullet was pulled out by the man, who he realized must have been General Malta, and the wound had healed properly enough not to hinder him. He looked up and around, they were in an open park at the outskirts of the town fighting near a Smarty Mart as the zealots tried to make a push towards the pinned down GJ agents protecting the OFI deserters. He glanced to his left and right, noticing that the dozen army soldiers he was with were now joined by a group of specialists in blue, making a push from the makeshift cover they'd taken behind a stone fence at the sidewalk. He came next to a man who looked Korean to him and nodded, "Nice to meet you." He said before glancing over and lining the shot up, hitting an OFI zealot and stunning him. They weren't in the normal OFI uniform, but instead looked like a ragtag militia of sorts with some lighter OFI gear that was sufficient for identifying them as OFI.

"Yes sir, I'm Agent Will Du."

"Global Justice?"

"Yes. You Sergeant Generation?"

"One and only, it's an unusual surname," he commented as bursts of azure energy shot from behind their lines from the Burger King they had passed earlier. A sniper and his spotter were taking shots at the OFI zealots as they tried to advance.

"_Sergeant,"_ came Captain Barkin from his radio, _"We've got enemy reinforcements coming in from your south. Force a breakthrough to the Smarty Mart, we'll delay them as long as we can but they've MacGyvered a technical... wait, make that two."_

"Copy that, sir," he answered, "I'll pass it onto the General." He glanced over, Malta wasn't directly on the line opening fire but he was pulling a downed soldier back from it, taking a few shots from his pistol at an OFI zealot who charged at the line. The one-handed shots went wide but called attention to it, a GJ soldier with a funny accent (British, he thought) turning and blasting the zealot with his energy _shotgun_ before reporting the tango down. Will Du quickly reloaded and opened fire again, and the OFI zealots began to break at last, melting back into the back alleys.

"Sir!" Paul shouted as he came up next to Malta and helped pull the soldier back for the medics, "Enemy reinforcements coming in."

"That'd be the proper OFI soldiers," Malta said as he grit his teeth, the medic taking charge of the down soldier. "Chase down and subdue the fleeing OFI militants then report back. Patel, get the 404 together! We're going to cause some problems for OFI!"

"Yes sir!" the British soldier said as he flipped in a new power cell for his shotgun.

"Should I join you, sir?" Paul asked, "I was told that I would be linking up with the 404."

"No, I want you to make sure the army soldiers get through. We'll have time to talk later." The medic had confirmed that the soldier would survive by then.

"Yes sir."

"Get going, soldier!"

Paul moved to rejoin the squad, Sergeant Luce glancing towards him as they moved past the Smarty Mart into the corridors of the small town. "So, what'd he want?" Luce asked.

"Told me to stick with you, we're clearing the remaining militia while his 404 team deals with the incoming reinforcements."

"Glad to have you, marine." He said with a nod, reloading his GJA-13. He held it awkwardly, unused to the bulky rifle design. "Wish we had a Humvee or something instead of just the trucks we rode here on."

"I hear that, nothing like having a minigun handy for suppressing these types." he agreed as they moved forward, holding their rifles at the ready. They fell silent as they began to hunt through the alleyways for the dozen militiamen that had escaped. A hovercraft of some sort flew in and landed near the Smarty Mart, presumably picking up the OFI defectors and maybe the stunned militia for incarceration. The buildings were old but in good shape, and not much trash littered the street. There were trashcans stacked together near backdoors of what he presumed were restaurants and stores.

"Too quiet," a soldier said after a few minutes when they got back to the main road to cross to the other side. "We should of seen something by now."

"OFI!" Luce shouted, "On the roof, eleven o' clock!"

They looked up just in time to see the OFI militia coming up from lying on their stomachs on the roof. Paul raised his rifle quickly and opened fire, hitting a militiaman in the chest as he got down and caused him to fall from the roof and land with a sickening crunch. He grunted as he took a bullet that nicked his leg, stumbling back as he emptied the clip towards them, ignoring the pain as he took cover behind a stone stairwell leading into a house. He grit his teeth as he checked the wound… it'd taken out a small chunk of his thigh and was starting to heal. The other soldiers were pinned in the alley, Luce telling four to go up the road a little by back alleys to get a better angle.

"Man down!" Luce shouted as he saw Paul. "Get a medic over there, stat!"

"I'm fine," he grunted back, "Focus on the job!" He glanced over from where he was, spotting the militia. Fingering a flash bang and wishing it was a proper explosive one instead, he held it ready as the wound felt like it was closed, and he made his move. Pulling the pin from the grenade, he rose and chucked it into the air before dropping back down. The flash bang landed on the roof but was kicked off, detonating in mid air. The noise deafened him briefly when he spotted energy blasts impacting off the side of the roof. The four soldiers Luce had sent had looped around and were hitting the militia's flank, catching one of them and knocking him backwards.

"Sergeant, Henderson, Gaz, three of you get into the apartment and clear it!" Luce ordered. Paul nodded and glanced up. The militia were taking cover and he took the opportunity to storm across the street, two other soldiers coming in behind him while Luce took up his previous position at the stairwell, laying down suppressive fire. Kicking the door open, the three soldiers moved into the hallway. Gaz checked a corner into a kitchen and said, "Clear!" while Henderson checked the family room to the left. Paul aimed his rifle up the stairwell, slowly advancing up as the two army grunts followed his lead. Pausing at the top of the stairs, Paul checked the corner before nodding. "Clear."

They continued on, finding another set of stairs almost immediately and climbing up, finding a door half open and hearing the sound of rifle fire and someone muttering curses. Holding his hand up, Paul nodded as Gaz and Henderson stopped, taking up a position behind him as he crept to the door, getting a better look. Three militia remained fighting from the top, energy blasts from below either overshooting or hitting the sides of the building. He aimed down the iron sights of his GJA, taking out the first militiaman with a shot in the back that caused him to whirl around before collapsing to the ground. The other two militiamen whirled around only for Paul to hit both of them quickly.

"They're down!" he called as the sounds of gunfire died out. Gaz and Henderson came up the stairs and the three quickly cleared the militia's weapons.

_"Nice going you three."_ Sergeant Luce said over the radio, _"Regroup at the base of the building, we got birds coming in to deal with the subdued OFI."_

"Got it, Sergeant. Any idea why we're even bothering with stun? These guys are pretty much committing treason and attacking armed forces. That gets you shot with lead."

_"Not a clue. Probably some politician wanting to look clean when he or she ordered this clean up. Least these GJA's are just a stun setting rather than using weapons worse for combat."_

XX

**Tri-City Penitentiary Facility**

**AKA, "Cell Block D"**

**Outside of Upperton, Colorado**

Shego leaned up against the crate, watching the two Global Justice agents walk by, chatting idly while they held their GJA-14's. The contents of their conversation didn't interest her and she glanced around before making a dash across the alleyway, taking cover behind fuel barrels (conveniently) stacked near the GJ Hovercraft and all it'd take to blow it (and all the munitions stacked next to it) sky high would be one bang powerful enough to set off the crates. Slipping a small explosive out she quietly cut a hole just large enough to slip the inch wide explosive into one of the barrels once armed before sneaking away before the guard patrol came back. She took cover behind the loading dock for the prison cafeteria, located near the landing pad.

_"Shego,"_ Drakken said on the tight beam radio they had, _"I'm in position to break Lucre out. Could use that distraction so I can open the floodgates of villainy."_

"You got it," she answered as she pulled out the detonator and hit the trigger. With a brief yet eternal delay, the fuel cells exploded before chain reacting with each other and the munitions, blowing the GJ aircraft into parts and sent the flaming, contorted pieces of metal flying in every direction. The two guards who had passed earlier and were looping back swore loudly as they dived out of the way of a piece of the hovercraft's tail nearly crushed them. The alarm began to blare as Drakken reported that he opened the cells.

"Got it, Doc, I'll go make a bigger mess. See you at the rendezvous." She hung up after and moved towards the other main cell building. GJ soldiers were rushing towards the main prison as men in orange prison jump suits began to brawl with them, GJA blaster fire echoing in the afternoon. A GJ soldier noticed her as she crossed the courtyard, but before he could signal she grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the concrete floor, knocking him clean out before hurrying to the other cell, forcing the metal emergency door open with her plasma and blasting a GJ soldier inside with it, knocking the female agent out in one shot. Stepping into the hallway, she glanced around, noting the empty security station. She held her plasma charged hand into a fist and hit the window, smashing it open, and vaulted inside.

She smiled as she found the control she was looking for, and hit it, releasing the entire cell block. _That should also get Mannichus out... and get that twerp Ryan following me like a drooling hound,_ she thought as she noticed a squad of riot troopers moving into a riot shield phalanx at the main door into the prison complex itself with several additional soldiers taking up positions to lay down fire on the prisoners coming out. Men and women, many of them looking like various henchmen came streaming out, some carrying jury rigged weapons like broken piping, others readying powers. A GJ soldier shouted for them to stand down or they'd open fire and the soldiers lined up their energy rifles and shotguns to engage. The prisoners kept coming and one of the supers contained hurled an electric blast at the guards. The guards opened fire with their GJA's and Shego took the opportunity. Leaping into the back, she hit the rearmost guard and knocked him forward, causing a segment of the riot phalanx to collapse as it was knocked forward before she sprang at the other guards.

It was a very quick matter to overwhelm the remaining guards with the hole in their phalanx. Some of the prisoners were subdued, but for the most part it was a rout against the poor GJ agents and the prisoners started streaming out. Almost all of them, a grim looking man with deathly pale skin and a wispy gray beard looking old beyond his years walked up to her, narrowing his sunken eyes at her. His deathly appearance contrasted greatly with the orange jumpsuit he was wearing. "Who are you, and what is your purpose for freeing us?"

"Let me guess, Mannichus?"

He seemed surprised, but covered it quickly. "Yes. How..."

"Your buddy Ginner wants you back. Get going during the escape while mayhem goes on, and make sure he knows it was Shego who broke you out, huh? He isn't reneging."

He raised an eyebrow before nodding, glancing down at one of the GJ guards and incanting something, red energy coming from the downed soldier as he went limp, Mannichus inhaling and smiling foully, as if renewed. "Very well. I'll inform him of this... thank you." The last two words came out as if he didn't usually use the two in close combination before he strode out menacingly. Shego shook her head and headed out the door herself, coming out to a sight of riot.

The prisoners had clashed with the GJ soldiers who had managed to respond surprisingly quickly, forming a barricade at the main gates with their _Telthor_ mechs providing heavy suppressive fire. Three dozen prisoners went down before they could scramble for cover. Shego dived and found herself next to two men, one in an orange suit and the other wearing a blue lab coat. "This is going well, huh doc?" Shego commented.

"Yes... we need to get through. GJ locked down the other exits and they're trapped with an electric discharge, no way to disable it." Drakken bitterly stated, "They wizened up."

"Well, least the Warden didn't wake up," Lucre said, "They say he's some sort of sniper and recently got a new toy."

"SCREW THIS!" shouted a large hulk of a man nearby, "LEEROY-"

The moment he rose from cover, however, a blue streak sped by and pegged him square between the eyes, blowing him backwards and out. Shego spotted the glint of the scope from one of the guard towers by the gate.

XX

"Not again, not another break out." the Warden swore vehemently to himself as he reloaded and blasted another prisoner with a stun shot. He was _sick_ of everyone walking out of prison. It was time to end a trend.

XX

**Brookfield, Kentucky**

"Nice job, Sergeants." Captain Barkin said with a nod as the two reported back in at their park command post. The wreckage of the technicals that were taken out lined the road south. Paul nodded as Sergeant Luce caught several new clips, passing a few to him.

"Thanks, these things burn ammo quick." he commented as he stashed the replacement clips into various parts of his uniform.

"Nah, just too big to carry as many mags as usual. These things really need better power regulation to make up or smaller batteries."

Barkin cut in, "Maybe, but we've got one final holdout on the north side of town. You're team will take point and deal with it."

"What are we looking at?" Paul asked as Barkin gestured them over to a map of the town, cannibalized from city map from the park entrance that was shot off by a series of misses by the OFI.

"One fortified corner store, sells souvenirs or something." he explained, pointing to the appropriate places on the map, "They've dug in with some barricades made from tables out of the next door Burger King, but there's a problem. We found what they wanted here, and why the defectors that GJ picked up scooted. It turns out that the fellow who runs that souvenir store is also a mad scientist who got clear. The OFI boys don't like mad scientists and since the town was consulting him for a lot of ways to deal with stuff like Lil Diablo in the future, OFI decided to do some purification. We don't know what he was working on and it could go off at any minute. As such, the 404 boys will be coming in from the north side while you hit from the south. If things get rough, they've got a strike craft in the area to help out. Some GJ helo of some sorts."

"Like those hovercraft things?" Luce asked, making Paul think back to the ones that picked up the OFI deserters.

"Correct. The rest of the company is going to be securing the town and finding the civilians, getting them to safety, the usual. Any questions?"

"No sir." the two sergeants answered.

"Good. Dismissed."

XX

"Toss me a clip, Hoover," Giles Summers, Jr. said as he staked out the building. He had to give the militia credit, they knew how to barricade. He caught the clip easily and inserted it into his GJA-19 sniper rifle. "Alright, keep an eye out, I want a quiet work place today."

"Got it, boss. I got a bad feeling about this, though."

"What kind of bad?"

"Blow up in our face bad."

Giles nodded, "Got it." He learned to trust Hoover's instincts, he was the guy who could sense a trap even if he didn't know how it'd happen. He put his eye to the scope again and began checking the targets. The militia were all armed with older weapons, primarily Vietnam era M-16's and the occasional MP5. The main barricades in the front were manned by at least a dozen, and a few more were hiding on the roof, ready to spring when the army soldiers (and Sgt. Generation) arrived. He almost pitied the ones on the roof, doing the sane thing, but in the end sanity would actually hurt them more than insanity. _Least they can say they weren't being stupid,_ he thought with amusement as his radio buzzed briefly.

"They're going in. Hoover, eyes wide and make sure I have room to work."

"No problem."

He aimed at the first man on the roof and took the shot. The round blasted into the target and knocked him down, stunning him unconscious. The other guards tried to react, but he followed it up with a succession of three more shots before ejecting the depleted clip and stuffing a new one in to finish off the last soldier on the roof.

_"Enemy roof bogies down,"_ Ghast radioed, "_Move in!"_

_"This is Sergeant Luce; we're moving in on the south. Check your lines."_

Giles shifted his aim to the barricades facing the 404 team and started picking off the OFI soldiers while the Army soldiers breached their end, setting a breaching charge on the window and blowing a hole into it. He watched the OFI militants go down quickly as the 404 and Army soldiers met up again inside.

_"This is Ghast, we've cleared the area."_

_"Excellent work,"_ Malta stated. _"Pick up is inbound. Losses?"_

_"Several injuries with the Army, but nothing too serious. That new guy's walking after taking a hit to the chest."_

_"Excellent. I'll be there shortly."_

XX

Paul shook his head as he looked around the store. "So what's the mad science in here anyways?"

"I'm not certain," Will Du said as the two glanced around. The other 404 team members had been cleaning the area. The door opened again and everyone glanced over. General Malta was walking in.

"Sergeant Generation, with me. Sergeant Luce, take your men back to the Captain and thank him for his assistance here."

"Yes sir!" Sergeant Luce said, "Alright squad, Oscar-Mike back to the Captain. Let's go!"

Paul nodded and followed Malta as he lead him out, gesturing into the Humvee's back seat. His stomach growled after. As Paul got in, Malta said, "You're a tough soldier, sergeant. How many bullets did you take today?"

"I didn't count, sir, but most of them were nicks."

Malta nodded as he took his seat in the passenger side and answered, "Welcome to the 404. I'll brief you in more detail on the flight back to the Tri-City area, but suffice it to say you're sense of what the world is will be blown by the end of your service with us."

"Considering these, sir," Paul said as he held his GJA-13 out, "I'm not surprised."

Malta smiled, "Good insight. Anything else before we leave town?"

"There any ration bars, sir?"

XXX

**Tri-City Penitentiary Facility**

**AKA, "Cell Block D"**

**Outside of Upperton, Colorado**

"I got an idea," Shego said as she hit a GJ riot soldier square in the jaw as he tried to advanced past where they had taken cover, and remembered what she'd read in _Villain's Digest_ about GJ's mechs. "Cover me so I can get past those mechs. They can't cover their backsides, can they?"

Drakken grinned and nodded, "Let's go, through this building." His flowers shot into the ground, burrowing with time into the concrete and entering the prison building. He nodded and Shego broke the concrete with plasma blasts, and the vines that were now in it pushed it open. The concrete fell into rubble and they stepped through, quickly taking the corridrors and heading out a previously breached back way of that building.

They found themselves in the space between a wall and the building, and a light flashed straight at them followed by energy bursts. The guard tower had spotted them and was spitting energy shots down at them. they took cover back in the building and Drakken took a glance. "Three guards, two with GJA's."

Shego nodded, "I'll distract them. Doc, break that search light."

He nodded and the two moved out. Shego hurled several bolts of plasma to get the guard's attention and they followed. She started dodging like a cheerleader to evade the incoming ammunition as Drakken hurried to the base of the tower and shot his vines up. The vines reached the top and grabbed the guards, pulling them out of the tower with a yell. Other search lights able to reach the tower flashed over as Drakken pulled the guards to the ground and Shego helped him knock them unconscious. "That'll do, let's go." Shego said and they were rejoined by Lucre and gave him one of the guard's GJA rifles before hurrying to where the Telthors were.

The Telthors were in a formation with two dozen riot soldiers with their riot shields out, another dozen soldiers firing over the shields at the prisoners who were taking cover. Some prisoners boldly tried to move up but were hit. Lucre nodded, holding the GJA ready. Shego leapt at the nearest Telthor plasma blazing and ripped the back hatch open. The pilot was too shocked to respond and was taken out before he could react. The other riot soldiers tried to respond, but Lucre had fired a spray of GJA rounds into their backs, sending further confusion. Drakken had tackled another mech and the last one turned to confront Shego...

Shego smiled, "This one's mine," she stated as its guns spun up again. It opened fire, the hum and thud of its guns echoing as she leapt into the air, staying just ahead of the energy bolts as Drakken continued to use his plants to deal with the guards, keeping them busy even as they blasted the vines coming at them with their rifles and energy shotguns. The prisoners surged forward in complete riot, and things became entangled.

Shego landed right next to the mech and with her plasma charged punched the left gun's joint, breaking it and causing the gun to slow down before stopping, smoke rising from the barrels. The mech awkwardly turned, and Shego simply slid around to hit its other gun before leaping up onto the top and punching into the hatch, hitting the driver. The mech collapsed and Shego leapt off, landing with a smirk at her handiwork.

Suddenly, she was knocked off her feet and hit the ground with a loud thud...

XXX

The Warden smirked, "Not again, Shego," and reloaded his sniper rifle, fitting another clip in and aimed at the next prisoner needing a good stunning.

XXX

"I got her!" Lucre shouted as he picked Shego up. She was alive and waking up, but vulnerable. Drakken grit his teeth and looked up at the tower the Warden was in.

"Get her out of here, the Warden is mine." Drakken said and he sprinted towards the tower. Another sniper round sprang down and nearly hit Lucre as Drakken reached the later and started climbing, vines growing and shooting up as a GJ guard started shooting down. The vines intercepted the blasts and grabbed the soldier, pulling him down from his position. Drakken didn't even notice the pedals popping out again as he reached the top and found the Warden reloading. He didn't even think; he tackled the man and the two began to roll around on the tower's railing.

"Drakken..." the Warden said with a toothy smirk as they came to a halt, gripping each other's hands with Drakken on the bottom, "I wondered when you'd be back. I saved a cell for y-"

He didn't get a chance to finish. One of the vines grabbed him and hurled him into the floor of the tower, knocking him out. Drakken pushed himself up and said coldly;

"Hospitality repaid."

XXX

Shego glanced down at Lucre as she came around and pushed herself off from him, taking a brief hop as she nearly stumbled. The two glanced at each other awkwardly before they decided not to discuss that again, by unspoken agreement.

XXX

XXX

**August 8th, 2007**

**GJ Firebase Alternate-1**

"Welcome to Taskforce 404, Sergeant."

"Thank you, General." Paul answered in his new uniform. It was standard GJ, but it had much more gray than the usual uniform. Taskforce 404 was getting a somewhat more distinct and urbanized set of equipment rather than GJ's usual all-blue gear, and it was supposedly more protective as well.

"Looks like we missed a party though," Patel said as he gestured to the news playing on the screen giving coverage of the latest breakout from Cell Block D. Paul was surprised at how much room Malta gave the 404 as far as discussion went. He certainly seemed to run them tight in discipline, but had a lot of tolerance for casual talk as long as it was either focused on the task at hand or it was during quiet hours. _Then again, to be in here you probably have to be good enough you don't need a sergeant yelling at you constantly..._

Malta nodded, "There's nothing more we can do in regards to that. What we can do, however, is deal with Gil Moss. Sergeant Adams' team in the Camp Gottagrin area just confirmed that he is on the move."

"Gil, sir?" Paul asked.

"Mutant... long story, and we don't have time for all of it. Lease?"

The Greek woman nodded and turned the screen to bring up the GJ briefing on Gill and his mutants. Paul read it quickly and felt like vomiting as he read about it. "That kid is messed up..."

"You don't say," Malta commented dryly. "Well, we know he's after the Tri-City Water Treatment plant, and that's where we're headed. Gill is on the move, and so are we. You all haven't had time to learn to work together, I know, but we have to work together. There are some available GJ forces to assist, but they won't arrive quick enough."

"What about Possible?" Patel asked. "Isn't she due to be back sometime soon?"

"No word on her, but her family did leave Florida as they weren't at the hospital when the GJ soldiers there did a stealth check. We can't count on her showing up in the nick of time, as helpful as that would be, as we don't know _when_ she left."

Paul nodded, "Never liked the idea that our first line of defense was a cheerleader and her slacker boyfriend anyways. When do we leave for the plant?"

"Right now."

XXX

**Doctor Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

"Wow..." Lucre exclaimed, "Lair's come a long way, hasn't it?"

"Yes," Drakken said with a certain amount of pride, "it has, hasn't it?" Shego had gone to sleep off the hit she'd taken, leaving Drakken to have time to talk with Lucre. "So, glad the cuffs are off?"

"Oh yes. Mom still wouldn't try to pay bail for me and they kept letting Big Tony take two puddings." Lucre complained, "I'm tellin' ya, I almost wanted to stay to see how GJ fixed that."

"Well, we can fix that, can't we?" Drakken said. "You get wind of our scheme?"

"Nothing. Evil scheme, huh?" he asked, interested. "Want me to be your sidekick again?"

Drakken smiled, "If you want. We need someone who can help us find the bargains on equipment. You'll be working with Hank Perkins in equipment."

"Oooh. Sounds exciting. So, when do I start?"

"Soon as you can... ah, Hank!" Drakken said as Perkins came out. "Meet Francis Lurmen, AKA Frugal Lucre."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mister Lucre." Hank said with a smile as he shook hands. "So, what's your specialty?"

"Villainy for a fraction of the cost."

Hank paused, frowning. "Hmmm. Cost efficiency is not about just the cheapest price. But I'd be glad to see what you can find, there may be some quality bargains I'd miss. Anyways, bunch of those henchmen from the jailbreak are looking for work."

"Really? Well, let's see who we get out of this, then," Drakken said with a faint smile. He loved it when a plan came together.

XXX

**Tri-City Water Treatment Plant**

**Middleton, Colorado**

"Out of the way, I have the door," Gill said as Amadeus confirmed the door was locked and reinforced. Gill inhaled deeply before charging directly into it, buckling the door enough that the other mutants with him could rip it off its hinges. "Spread out, you know what to do." he said and they spread out, Amadeus accompanying him while the others moved.

"What issss our tasssk?" Amadeus asked with his snakelike hiss as he heard screams from inside and the sound of a pistol going off, followed by a loud burp and a scream.

"We're going for the main treatment. Once we both add our muck in there, the entire Tri-City area will be afflicted. They'll share our pain, the social stigma against us. Global Justice itself might get corrupted if what Hench implied was true..."

"The downfall of Global Jusssstice would be mossst welcome. Many would flock to usss..."

"Maybe, but it also forces the squeeb to me... and if his precious girlfriend is mutated, that will be the most powerful revenge I could ever ask for." Suddenly, a security guard pointed his gun at them as they turned a corner.

"Hands in the air, ya freaks!" the guard said, "I'm not afraid to kill- GAH!"

He didn't get a chance to finish, Gill simply slathered him with a shot of muck, the one bullet the guard got off hitting his scales without overall damage beyond a slight mark. Gill snorted, "Kill me, huh? You didn't even scratch me. Enjoy being mutated." Gill walked off, leaving the guard pinned on the wall and struggling to escape. He smiled as they reached the door into the main treatment room.

In the distance he heard the sound of GJA fire, but he wasn't worried. His band would slow the GJ forces down. All he needed to do now was force open the door, then contaminate the water supply. He knocked on the steel door, nodding. Before being melded into GJ, PBD had done something right and reinforced it beyond the exterior door. He took a step back and nodded to Amadeus, and the two inhaled deeply.

Suddenly and violently they began to spit their muck at the door, weakening it as the mutagenic acids within began to weather it quickly. Smiling as the door began to steam, Gill walked up to it and slammed into it. The door collapsed with a finite and loud thud, and Gill walked in with a smile.

XXX

**Yamanouchi Ninja School**

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron nodded to Sensei, giving the wooden practice sword a brief twirl. He was clad in his mission wear, including a sheath that Ron had put together in his spare time to hold the Lotus Blade as he would not be carrying it in the case all the time. "I'm ready."

Sensei nodded before he began to channel magical energy, a lotus shape forming before the energy bolt sped at him. Ron brought the barrier ward up in time to tank the blast, grunting from the drain as the powerful bolt hit. He charged forward and two of the students leapt out, clad in training armor and facial masks to avoid accidents. Ron parried the first one's blow while, with a simian echo and blue flash, he stuck the ground with his other foot, sending a small blast that knocked the trainee down. Ron spun, disarming his first opponent before hitting him with a brief pommel strike to subdue him without serious injury. Sensei channeled another blast, and Ron absorbed the blow again but Sensei was increasing the tempo. _Man, when he cuts loose he cuts loose!_ Ron thought, knowing the only reason he was using so much magic was because it was for the purpose of training. In most circumstances he preferred to not use it.

Another bolt struck and Ron again blocked it with the barrier ward, but he was starting to tire. Sensei was hitting him hard and powerfully, and more of the trainees were coming out to challenge him. Their various skill levels from novice to near graduate made it hard for Ron to gauge how much he had to put in, but he was quickly trying to use magic as little as possible, to focus on stopping the blasts Sensei was sending at him. He was hesitant to charge at Sensei even with such being allowed. Stopping the magical bursts might call for too much of an attack, and he didn't want to hurt him.

Right as the thought gnawed at him, he felt a shatter and was knocked backwards, hitting a bonsai tree and landing on the ground with a grunt. He glanced up as everyone stood down, and Sensei walked over, offering him a hand. Ron took it and let himself be pulled up. He bowed politely to Sensei.

"Well done," he said with a nod. "You did better that time than you have previously. As you experience the sheer unknowns of battle, you learn the wisdom of identifying what is capable and what is not, but never forget that even the strongest tree may be felled by a humble ax."

"I won't," Ron answered, his stomach growling hungrily. "So, we going to eat or we running it again?"

XXX

Paul nodded to the other Taskforce 404 members, taking the safety off of his GJA-13. "Lethality, sir?" he asked into his radio as their hovercraft approached the water treatment plant. He liked the GJ Hovercraft; they were quieter than normal helicopters and had enough room to fit light vehicles, which was often used for transport. _Still, could use different designs. Some for combat, others for combat air drops. Much more effective and can make smaller targets..._

_"Gill and his cronies are marked by command as stun for study of live tissue and hopeful counter-mutation, but if necessary feel free to make them lawn fertilizer."_ Malta responded.

"Yes sir." he answered, glancing up to Ghast and Will. They were well armed, Paul with a GJA-13, Will using his GJA-15 _Vindicator,_ and Ghast was holding his shotgun. Giles had his sniper rifle handy and his spotter sported a GJA-13, but those two were going to deploy on the roof to stop getaways, hopefully.

"Hey, Church," Ghast teased to the French heavy weapons (and cross-trained diplomatic) expert, "Try not to shoot me in the arse again. It's bad enough when you do it in the sim."

The GIGN soldier, Charles "Church" Lafollette, smirked as he held up his GJA-21, modified to be carried without GJ's Hazard Armor and was carried very much like a mini-gun. "But of course, my ghastly comrade. Try not to make the blue cheese stink back at base."

"Don't make him make a promise he can't make, he smells enough that zombies would notice." said the 404's combat medic (and currently only female member), Sara "Cleaver" Lease, a Greek woman who had served in PBD previously as a medic... and was one of the top sharpshooters on the base she was in. Malta called on her to be the 404's combat medic, summarizing it as when she wasn't working to keep them alive, she was blasting away with the GJA-13 she was given, and rapid teams like what the 404 were supposed to be couldn't have idle members just because they were doing well.

"So, anyone else disappointed by the lack of attachments?" Paul asked as he held his GJA-13 up, the pilot telling them they had thirty seconds to land.

"Yes," Ghast said. "No silencers, no ACOG, nothing. At least the iron sights are decent, but these rifles need serious modification. How the hell GJ's been able to support any modern effort's beyond me."

"GJA-13's are subject to frequent modification," Will said in his usual calm and precise way, "However, such modifications are not done across Global Justice as a whole, and most modifications are done by those with natural engineering talent."

"Quoted that out of the database, didn't you?" Church said with a smirk as the hovercraft touched down, lifting his modified GJA-21 before adding, "Come on, let's get these frogs out of here!"

_He burned himself, didn't he?_ Paul wondered as he leapt down after the Frenchman. Giles and Hoover followed, with Sara, Will, and Ghast taking up the rear. All but the sniper duo moved to the door on the top of the roof. "We got this unlocked?" Paul asked.

"Hang on, some computer geek Malta hired is hacking," Sara said as they prepared to storm.

"Wade Load?" Will asked. The door unlocked and opened. "I would assume he'd do this for free."

"Think he is," Ghast answered. "I'll go in first."

And he did, shotgun ready and at the bottom of the stairs a mutant rushed him. He blasted the mutant with three successive blasts, staggering the mutant to a standstill before he hit him with several quick stock strikes, knocking the mutant down to the ground. The rest followed him down, Paul taking point now as Ghast reloaded. They heard a loud door crash, and knew what was happening.

They moved quickly, several mutants blocking their way as they found the broken door into the main treatment plant. "Stop them!" Church shouted as he stepped into the hallway and fired his modified GJA-21, clobbering a mutant with a direct hit before he took cover. Paul and Ghast moved in closer when a mutant charged up. Ghast dodged, but Paul caught a slash to the chest. Grunting, he shoved the gun into the mutant's chest and pulled the trigger, unloading most of the clip and nearly blinding himself from the flash of the energy impacts. Ghast came up and stock struck the mutant before blasting him down. Will and Church took out another of the mutants, leaving only one left.

"I'm fine," Paul insisted as Sara came over to check. Nodding as he let her see his wounds healing, she rose and added her fire to the volume pushing into the last mutant, who collapsed with a loud thud. Everyone quickly switched their clips to make sure they had a full charge.

"Room clear!" Will shouted, and the five hurried into the room to see Gill and his mutant advisor Amadeus.

"It's over, put your hands in the air and step away from the treatment plant or we shoot!" Ghast said, moving closer and aiming his shotgun at the two. The two mutants looked at each other before laughing.

"Taking that as a no," Sara said dryly when the mutants suddenly started spitting muck. Ghast dove out of the way and the mutants leapt over the long tanks, moving towards the last one. They opened fire, moving up the catwalks quickly, but the two mutants were surprisingly fast, and when they were hit it wasn't enough to slow them down. They reached the last one and tried to open it, but a hail of fire hit them and they area around them. They realized they didn't have time and were outmatched. They spat muck at the window and broke it open, leaping up to grab the ledge and pulling themselves over.

"These muties are fast movers!" Church exclaimed as he saw them move.

Paul hit his radio, "General, they're on the run! No tanks slimed!"

Malta sighed faintly, _"Copy that. Get the mutants."_

"Yes sir!" Paul said as he came over and brought his GJA to bear again. They saw the two mutants splitting up. Blue bolts of GJA-19 sniper fire followed, catching the smaller mutant and subduing him while Gill escaped. They chased him across the street, leaping between cars which honked their horns at them loudly before they got to the alley, then it broke into three paths, Gill taking the middle one.

"Paul, Will, up the middle! Church, with Sara to the right! I'll take the left and head him off!" Ghast ordered.

"Got it," they all said at once and went their respective ways. Their radios buzzed and another voice came on, that of what sounded to Paul like a roughly early-teenaged kid.

_"Wade Load here, I'm tracking your positions. Sergeant, Agent, you're right on Gill's trail, keep following the path."_

"Right... General?" Paul asked as he and Will leapt over a row of trashcans that had been knocked into their path.

_"Listen to him, he's Possible's computer help."_ Malta ordered. They spotted Gill rounding a corner left and followed.

"Copy that." Will answered and they turned another corner, finding Gill in a long alleyway. The two opened fire, set to stun in case civilians appeared and hoping to catch Gill, but without luck, shots going wide and harmlessly hitting the walls and dumpsters, occasionally knocking a trashcan over. Wade was radioing instructions to the others, updating them on Gill's position.

_"Gill's moving towards the movie theatre!"_

"_On it, I'll cut him by the front!"_ Ghast said.

_"We took a wrong turn, then!"_ Church said before muttering a curse in French.

"Copy, closing in." Will answered as they switched their clips after another spray. Paul had to admit that this Gill had stamina. They came out of the alleys to the movie theatre, were there was a long line.

"OUT OF MY WAY!" Gill roared as he charged the crowd. People screamed and dove out of the way. _Aw hell,_ Paul thought as he and Will sprinted past, leaping over a person who was crouching on the sidewalk in pain. Now clear of the civilians, he and Will opened fire again as he sped towards another alley, and the chase continued.

XXX

**Doctor Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

Shego accessed the console in her room, and accessed the live feed. Ryan Ginner appeared, folding his arms.

_"Well..."_ he said, _"You rescued Mannichus."_

"Still interested?" she asked.

Ryan looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded. _"You have a deal, Shego. I will help lead this 'Empowered Division' you want created."_

"Good. I'll send you information on what I want from you soon." she said with a nod before closing the transmission. Shaking her head, she sat on her bed and glanced at wall. She was sore from the GJA-19 hit she'd taken, but she was just glad it was a stun round. _Not that that would of stopped you, after what Kim nearly did..._

She shivered at the memory, reminding herself that if Kim was well and truly unleashed, if she chose to go that far, she could be much more dangerous than any villain anticipated... even to the point of falling to villainy herself to do it. _That, at least, might be one of the most worthy fights I'd ever be in,_ Shego mused, _and one I might be willing to admit full defeat in. Might._

She glanced at the clock and yawned. She needed a shower, and sleep. Plotting took a lot more energy than she thought.

XXX

**Middleton, Colorado**

Paul grunted as he ducked under the shot of muck that Gill tried to hit him with, coming up and fitting the last clip into the GJA as Will also reloaded his last one. "Last mag!" he said.

Will simply grunted an affirmative as the two turned another corner, spotting a burst of Ghast's GJA-14 that had gone high from the other end of that alley.

_"He's getting away!"_ Ghast shouted angrily as Gill kicked the manhole cover open, all the Taskforce 404 soldiers out of ammunition as they had tried to expend everything in catching Gill.

_"No he's not!"_ a woman's voice cut in. Paul knew he had heard it on the news once...

And suddenly, a red headed woman leapt down from the building above the manhole cover, crashing down into Gill with one foot extended in a flying kick, knocking the mutant face-first into the manhole cover he had knocked into the air and crashed him into the ground with a tooth breaking thud. The five 404 soldiers skidded to a halt, looking at the scene.

The red head glanced at them as Ghast stuttered, "W... where'd you come from?"

"Wade called me and I was in town," she said, smirking smugly at him. Paul lowered his rifle, staring. He'd heard the stories and seen the occasional news report, but now he was seeing her in the flesh.

XXX

Gill groaned as the person who'd landed on him stepped off and rolled him around. Dazed and barely conscious from the mix of tanked GJA fire and the last impact, he got one look at Kim Possible before he fell unconscious.

XXX

XXX

**End Chapter**

*** Ah, poor Cell Block D. Everyone wants to hurt the guards, break the doors, and eat all the puddings. You'd think after a while they'd replace Cell Block D, where all the villains are held, with a full military base with tanks and minefields around the perimeter...**

*** So the plot continues, and a new set of guys introduced. Sgt. Paul 'Reggie' Generation is actually a lampooning/deconstruction of the FPS games, especially those with the 'walk it off' health mechanic. I dunno, it felt ridiculous as a serious concept but would fit right in along with all the other wackiness in KP (and, given the limitations that are on his powers, quite tame in comparison).**

*** No American Midwestern towns were harmed. I just made names up and based them on the stereotypical one with a slightly more realistic lean.**

*** Edwin Barkin is, yes, an OC. Intended to use him later on, but I figured 'why the heck not' and gave him an early cameo. You'd figure that Steve Barkin's nephew would of heard a thing or two about the crazy in Middleton. On that matter, what must the list of absence excuses be like for Barkin going through the list in homeroom? Between supervillains, mad science, and the occasional being-beamed-into-an-MMO?**

*** Writing Ron's training isn't as easy as I thought it'd be. You have to try and draw the line between learning it and comic failure, starting to get it, then getting it and moving on. Since his training was accelerated and boosted by prior experience of non-magic stills, it was a bit easier, but still, it's hard to think of how you'd train magical talent for a fight without any real comparisons to use.**

*** Thank you to Reader101w, S058, and anon (whoever you are) for their constructive reviews. They're really appreciated and help me get some feedback on how I'm doing the story.**

**XXX**

**-=Document Recovery: Global Justice Armaments 15=-**

_Source: Global Justice Database (Dated August 8th, 2007)_

File: GJA-19

_Subject:__ Global Justice Armaments 19_

_Weapon Nickname__: "Lovemaker"_

_Weapon Type:__ Bolt-Action Hybrid Energy/Kinetic Sniper Rifle_

_Tech Rating:__ T-5_

_Current Predominant Users: __Global Justice; Power Busters Division_

_Optimal Range:__ 600 Yards_

_Maximum Effective Range__: 800 Yards_

_Ammunition Type:__ .30 Kinetic Rounds; Energy Rounds_

_Ammunition Capacity:__ 4 Shots per Clip or Battery (Kinetic and Energy, respectively)_

_- Introduced to GJ and PBD armories in March of 2007, the GJA-19 "Lovemaker" sniper rifle was designed for the purpose of long-range support without lethality. Using advanced laser technology developed by PBD Brigadier General Gary "Pinpoint" Townes, the weapon can stun targets from impressive distances of over three hundred meters if a sniper is skilled enough. Thanks to this, Global Justice has begun outfitting it's agents with these weapons and using them to keep hostile forces pinned down due to ability to detain enemy targets without lethal force. It requires some advanced certification, but the necessary courses to use such a weapon are quick and only have a few brief changes from a standard sniper rifle._

_- The primary problem with wide-spread deployment of the GJA-19 is that the batteries are expensive, meaning that each shot must count, and each sniper can only carry approximately ten at most due to their comparative bulk. As such, GJA-19's in use by PBD are also outfitted with .30 Armor Piercing rounds as well as conventional hollow point .30 bullets, the latter being used more often for lethal force. On average, a sniper is issued out ten batteries (which are compatible with other GJA line weapons) and five clips of kinetic ammunition, one of which possibly being an Armor-Piercing round._

_- This weapon has received mostly positive responses from GJ agents using them, and thanks to its design it can be broken down into smaller parts relatively quickly and kept in a small case and can even be back-mounted if necessary. It is occasionally used in conjunction with the GJA-15 by GJ's Specter operatives. PBD snipers have found the versatility offered by this sniper rifle to be a great boon to their efforts in preventing superpowered activity from spilling into anarchy during its peacekeeping efforts. However, the batteries have been noted to be somewhat cumbersome due to size and only have a few shots per. Despite this, the GJA-19 is popular amongst Specter Operatives for taking out targets at long range, but they tend to favor the GJA-15 over the GJA-19 due to their often up-and-close style in engaging supers. Global Justice has also built in tracking devices that operate on minimalist frequencies as to prevent these versatile weapons from falling into the wrong hands; several lost rifles were recovered this way before finding their way into the Black Market (see file BMR-11 for details)._

_- The weapon is projected to see service for a number of years given its current state-of-the-art status, though it is hopeful that an answer to the ammunition problem will be discovered sooner than projected. But until then, Global Justice officers must employ their snipers sparingly in the field to maintain their services due to weapon maintenance issues._

_(Archival Agent's Note: Due to the folding of PBD into Global Justice, some parts of this file is currently out of date. Please inform Agent Talleyrand if this has not been rectified by August 13th)_

**-=Document Ends=-**


	21. Chapter 21: Arrival

_"Whenever I'm asked what caused the biggest change towards the end of the 07 year, I can't say it was the Dominion, I couldn't say it was aftereffects of the first lorwardian attack or that aggressive reconnaissance stunt of Warhok's buddies in December... the biggest answer had to be the vulnari. When they came, an already deteriorating situation just got worse... and a seemingly nightmarish situation can give evil all it needs to take control. History will always repeat itself, the smart guy learns to anticipate that."_

- Kim Possible, reflecting on the changes that began to take place towards the end of 2007, as recorded in her _Liber Memoriarum_

"_These laser weapons are not a bad thing, sir. The stun setting is extremely useful for usage by police or when needed for non-lethal takedowns. However, the GJA has a large number of fundamental flaws from its original purpose as GJ's weapon of choice when translated for usage by the United States Armed Forces, Marine Corps, and other armed divisions. The main issue being the relatively large design of its ammunition, with a lack of the many gadgets of modern military also missing. If the batteries were compacted down to the scale of, as an example, the M-16's clip, it could be a viable weapon to arm our soldiers with in the near future. But until it's practical to carry more or required to arm all our forces with these energy weapons due to say, the increasing presence of supers with powers able to deal with lead rounds, older tech will do us better at this scale."_

- Captain Edwin Barkin, giving his statement on the GJA-13 rifle to a US Department of Defense agent, and the statement was later used to begin the M-16 Mark II program to design a workable yet practical energy rifle to use against targets resistant to lead bullets.

**Chapter 21: Arrival**

**August 9th, 2007**

**Doctor Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

Drakken frowned as he looked through the telescope. "Those fragments are headed right towards us," she said with a frown. "At least, one of them are."

Shego nodded, "Any idea what they are?"

"No," Drakken answered as he rubbed his chin, "But I think it's time to kick some new production in before they arrive. Walk with me, talk with me, want to show you what I've got now."

They walked down from the small observatory Drakken had set up and he lead her down to one of the larger lab rooms. Drakken had really stepped up what they were making; he wasn't leaving it to any one type of minion, just like they planned. And that would hopefully become a strong point of the plan; Kim would be hit with multiple types of opponents at once. She was good, but even she had difficulty with that. This lab was the weapons lab, Drakken had decided to make a separate one to work on henchmen level weapons for the scheme because of how many things he had started trying. It was disturbing, sometimes, how he would be all over one project for a short while then become obsessed with another one... if anything good came from it, he usually just used scrap to test the theories and then often used lessoned learned in other places. Drakken grunted as he pulled out a laser cannon and attached it to the center turret base he'd set up in the testing place for actually firing the test weapons.

"This," he said with a pant as he attached it, "Is going to be put onto Destructobots. It's been upgraded with some of the Project Patton designs and should easily threaten a tank now, though probably more through deforming the armor then straight out overpowering it." He moved around it as he explained, hooking the cannon into the turret base and taking a step back. Shego grabbed some safety goggles and stood behind the reinforced observation bunker as Drakken moved up a target and joined her, pressing the button. With a single blast the cannon fired a bolt of plasma, partially deforming the armor and smoke rose from the melting metal.

"Nice," she commented. "What else do you have?"

"One of our agents got me parts, I could probably make those disc grenades that Dementor has developed for our drones." He glanced over as Perkins and Lucre walked in.

"Those discs are too fancy," Lucre was arguing with Perkins.

"But they are effective when used."

"If you're going to use a handheld thrown, use a pineapple. Cheaper and smaller."

"Less range and bang, though." Drakken said, "Besides, I don't think drones are smart enough to pull a pin without throwing it rather than the actual explosive. Disc grenades are just pushing a button and holding it for a few seconds until you throw it, and it arms once in flight."

Lucre shrugged, "Your choice, but you could probably use some cheaper compounds."

"Probably," Hank admitted. "But if they're not good enough they'll cost more than what we save."

"Well, the design seems sound enough. What else?" Shego asked.

"Not much, really," Drakken admitted. "I've got a few upgrades for the blade drones, but they're still a long ways away from being the heavy blitzing bots I wanted them to be."

"Dementor's armor?"

"Yes, that armor. Only real thing I can see as a way to get it would be to beat up a bunch of Dementor's henchmen and salvage samples."

"Something to have our henchmen work on, then," she said. "Well, you know your tech better. What do you think?"

"I'm figuring we should start small, for once. Get the basic drones up since they're what we're manufacturing the most of. The discs should give them some better bunch and ought to help deal with GJ's Telthor mechs, but the discs are too costly to give to every drone, so they'll be the heavy drone accompanying the regular fodder."

"Yeah, those are going to rip the drones a new one. Heck, they'd rip everything that isn't a tank up quickly," Lucre commented.

"Yes, by the time they're ready the Destructobots ought to be enough to match and wipe them out, but until then we need to have some drones." Drakken said with a shrug. "Really, that's one of the hard things about being a villain, picking what you give the henchmen."

"Speaking of which, I've been running some seminars with the new ones we ought after the breakout from Cell Block D, lot of them seem really into joining you."

"Good, soon as they're ready we can start getting some backup lairs made and staffed." Shego said, "Rather not be stuck in any one place when we're playing around with stuff that's beyond most humans…"

"Hey, it's not my fault that the mutant termites kicked us out to the time share lair for two weeks." Drakken said sourly, "Besides, they shouldn't of gotten out of their containers."

"Whatever, I just think it'd be better to have a backup or two. Like the one you had in the Alps."

"Right, well, I think we're in agreement to get the discs and new blade modifications ready?"

XXXX

**Possible Residence**

**Middleton, Colorado**

"So Wade, what's the sitch on the fragments?" Kim asked, pacing around her desk where Wade had set up a connection from his room.

"_Still incoming, but the larger chunks are being targeted by Global Justice. They're setting up firing solution and acting as a middle ground to make sure there's no accidents, not that many like GJ overseeing it."_

"Don't blame them," Kim answered. "They haven't really inspired confidence from the army. What else is going on?"

"_Simms sent you a memo, you got it?"_

"Yup," she answered, holding the small letter that had thanked her for the crystal that Archanus had given her and that they were doing some tests. So far it was looking like they could maybe extract the data for a more technological method… though the letter was again bare bones and had been delivered at night by what she assumed was one of Simms' agents. "Hopefully he'll get something useful by the time we have another smack down with aliens."

"_Yeah, but if they really hit us hard we're in for it. Maybe if the world was at the tech level of GJ or the mad science hanging around we'd be able to, but not with old gunpowder."_

"Anything else?"

"_Not really. Did some modifications to the battle suit if you want to give it a spin, but otherwise there isn't much to do but be handy if something goes really wrong with the incoming impacts."_

"Not a problem. Anyways, you got that new ShadowTraining module you've been dying to test up?"

"_Yeah. Think you'll find it useful."_

"I'll be over soon." She paused as she remembered what she wanted to ask. "Oh, Wade, could you dig up something on those 404 guys? The ones that were chasing Gill?"

"_No problem. They're one of Malta's efforts."_

"Malta, huh?" Kim said with a frown. "Haven't had to work with him for a while. What was the last time we did, the Magocracy lair we busted?"

XXX

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

"Again."

Ron closed his eyes, focusing and letting the magical energy build up as he held his hands tightly. He was working on a technique that was meant as some sort of burst, and as it finished building up (or what he felt was finishing), he released it and instinctively threw his arms to the side as the ring of blue magical energy expanded with the usual simian echo that accompanied the magic he used. _Man that's getting annoying,_ he finally decided, _I need to learn a silent version of this, or any heavy magic I use is going to get me spotted faster than Captain America running through a Hydra camp at night with his shield on his back…_

He glanced around, "Did I get it that time?"

"Close," Sensei said as he walked up to one of the small incense burners which were releasing a colored smoke, putting a hand through it and a ghostly monkey glowing green materialized, bound in chains. "But you haven't managed to properly repel them."

"This technique's really hard to build for, how am I supposed to use it in a fight?" Ron asked. "Not trying to be rude, but it's one of those thing were I'd need Kim covering me three-sixty to use."

He nodded slowly, "The charging energy will help shield you from the vulnari that your turning is meant to repel, but you are correct, it does leave you vulnerable. With time you will learn to force the charge quicker, but for now you must at least have the basic technique."

"So that's what it's for, fighting vulnari?" Ron asked. "Huh. Mighta been handy a while ago. Why wasn't I shown earlier?"

"The most complex of edifices are built upon the basics of its foundation. You must master more basic techniques first." He explained calmly.

Ron nodded, "Alright, let's give it another go."

Sensei nodded and waving his hand through the control smoke the vulnari appeared again, howling at him. Ron closed his eyes and built up the magic, trying to speed it up this time before he released it with a grunt. The circular burst of energy expanded from his midsection and cut into the vulnari, which howled in pain before exploding into dust and vanishing. Sensei nodded slowly. "You have completed the technique."

"Where did it come from, anyways?" Ron asked as he started picking up the containers to store them for later use. "This more than any of the ones I've learned really feels like it's out of Fortress and D&D."

"It was devised during the end of the Magocracy. It was a signature ability belonging to a specialized sect of magic users which focused on combining magic and blade, often hunting down loose vulnari to keep their presence low. They became known as…"

"Paladins? Seems like one of their types of abilities. Thought I was NG…" Ron smirked briefly as Sensei raised an eyebrow. "Sorry. Gamer joke."

"The amount of magical abilities you draw the analogy of this video based fiction in order to understand is sometimes disturbing," Sensei commented with a faint hint of amusement. Ron paused, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Have I really been doing that?"

"Yes… but if it helps you understand the early phases, then I will not contest it. All that remains to be seen is the wisdom of seeing the difference of reality and fiction." He paused briefly, "But wisdom comes in all forms, does it not, when used appropriately."

XXX

XXX

XXX

Kim nodded as she came to her senses. She was wearing the battle suit this time, though it was powered down for round one. "Good to go Wade, let's run it. What're you calling it again?"

"_Hulk Smash, version one."_ Wade answered, echoing through the off-white cubic field suspended in a black abyss.

A figure materialized ahead, and it didn't take Kim long to realized what it was a simulation off. The large, green skinned humanoid enemy was clad in a medium maroon armor, carrying a dark purple colored staff weapon. He looked at her and charged. Kim ran towards him, diving around as he swung his weapon at her and came up behind him, kicking him in the back. He grunted and shrugged the hit off before he whirled around, catching her in the shoulder with the pole of his staff weapon. Grunting as she hit the ground as rolled clear as he stabbed it into the ground, static buzzing in the cube her opponent had struck. She rolled back onto her feet as he pulled it out and stared at her briefly.

Kim sprang out of the way as he leveled the staff weapon at her and started firing bolts of plasma energy from it, avoiding the incoming attacks as she tried to find a way to close in on him without exposing herself to his strength. _He's really got an edge here,_ she thought pragmatically, _No gadgets or battle suit, and he's more built for a melee brawl than I am. Still, I might be able to abuse that size…_

He stopped firing as she began to move closer and the two collided. He effectively just bitch slapped her back, sending her tumbling away with a grunt each time she hit the ground and rolled. He charged at her, roaring like a warrior as he swept his staff low. Kim leapt over it and kicked him in the face as she back flipped onto her feet. He grunted from the blow before the follow up attack caught her as she tried to jump away, spearing her through the chest and blinding her with pain…

XXX

Kim inhaled sharply as she was knocked out of the virtual reality. The helmet came off quickly and the clamps released. Instinctively reaching for her chest and pulling her shirt up to make sure she wasn't actually speared through the stomach, she was relieved to find her skin unbroken except for the cuts she had from crashing the Sloth. _I'll never get used to how… good the simulator is._

Wade stepped down from his room, "You okay, Kim?" he asked.

"Fine. Just kind of surprised how I lost that one. How'd you duplicate one I've never fought anyways?"

"Simms." Wade explained, "He asked me to start compiling simulations of lorwardian warriors, and he had managed to salvage some data from the parts of Warhok's ship that survived. Figured you'd be the first to try it out and help me evaluate it."

"Well, it's looking like we can check normal hand-to-hand off the list unless we're that desperate," she commented. "I'm going to give it another go, but if I can't beat one in hand-to-hand combat without any juice in the battle suit there's no way anyone can short of superpowers and guns."

"Yeah," Wade said with a nod, "Though he had his weapon. I wasn't able to recreate any non-weapon combat techniques because we lacked information on it. The bitch slap he did was pretty much from what Drakken mentioned in his GJ debriefing after your first fight on how Warmonga started slapping Shego around."

Kim nodded, stepping back onto the rack. "Alright, Wade, hook me in. I want to try some other techniques, see if I can't find some methods that don't resort to guns and knives." She left the pragmatic colliery unsaid, though. _Humans just aren't able to compare to them, too small and weak. So how do we deal with it non tech/magic wise short of evolution, which we don't have a few million years to wait on?_

XXX

**GJ Firebase Alternate-1**

**Upperton, Colorado**

Paul looked down the new ACOG sight that had been added to his GJA-13, taking shots down the range as he did so. "So, we got a new guy coming in?" he asked.

"Yes, Jordanian everyone's calling 'Wire'. Demolitions expert." Church answered as he lifted his modified GJA-21 up.

"Demo expert, eh? Wonder how the rag head learned that…" Paul muttered bitterly as he loaded the under slung grenade launcher add on that his GJA-13 had been modified with, shooting the practice grenade down the range where it exploded into white powder.

"Don't be so sure, he was apparently PBD for a while, before the fold in."

"Yeah, well, I'll believe it when I see it." He put the safety on and unloaded the rifle, making sure it was still set to stun. "Where we picking him up?"

"We're going after some Big Daddy Brotherson fellow as he tries to do a deal in Cyprus. We'll be picking up Wire there."

"When we leaving?"

"Hour or so."

XXX

**Global Justice Headquarters**

**Somewhere under the Tri City Area, Middleton, Colorado**

Doctor Director frowned. "So, Innocents for Public Safety have recovered from the drop after Kim's heroics and are again pushing for overly intrusive legislation?"

"That's correct, ma'am," Agent Talleyrand said calmly. "They've recently been attempting to get votes in the Colorado state legislature in order to repeal the Authorized Vigilante Act."

"Repeal it? And reopen a legal option to be used by villains to target heroes like Possible?" she asked in amazement, shaking her head and closing her good eye. "Keep an eye on it. We need countermeasures in place to make sure that no villains take advantage of it."

"Yes ma'am. Agent Du has also sent his report on his thoughts of Taskforce 404 so far."

She nodded, "I'll read that in my office. Next?"

"Gemini has recently sent another list of demands to..."

"Rodegan," she answered automatically. Gemini, while lowering the tempo of his operations there, still didn't like losing even without GJ presence. "Is their defense force still active?"

"Yes ma'am, it expanded from fifty fighting men to sixty and have recently begun getting some training from a few French officers."

"Still a small number, but then again their population is only about..." she tried to remember, glancing at the console at her seat in the briefing room and dialing up the information, "Three hundred fifty... most of their soldiers being only part time in nature."

"Correct. Should we intervene again?"

"No, Gemini isn't gaining any ground anytime soon there, and we have more pressing matters to deal with. Rodegan can wait. What's the status on the asteroid fragments?"

"Inbound on schedule, and firing solutions are being ratified and checked from our launch facility to prevent the larger impacts from hitting cities."

"Good." She tapped her fingers on the table. She wasn't sure half of the people that they were working with to make sure it all went smoothly liked Global Justice, but at least they seemed willing enough to have UN oversight, even if it was GJ representing it. "Now all we have to do is wait, and be on standby to acquire the fragments as they land. Word on Stoppable?"

"Affirmative, we've managed to narrow down the region he's within. Team Possible remains completely unaware of Operation Pound."

She paused briefly, holding back a laugh before saying, "We really need to rename that operation. I understand he was the mascot for almost four years, but..." She left the implication to hang. "Well, knowing just what Stoppable is up to will help. If it has something to do with magic, it may connect to this Conclave/Magocracy thing we keep finding."

"Yes ma'am."

XXX

**Evil Test Range**

**Doctor Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

"Alright... Disc Drones, engage target one!" Drakken ordered. The five disc grenadier drones drew an explosive disc from their large backpacks, which were designed to slide another disc to the pull slot at the end of them where the drones easily grabbed them before bending like a discus thrower and hurling their discs at the target barrel (built to the proportions of a tank) and hit the barrel, blasting into the targets painted onto it. Drakken nodded as he checked the readings. "Good... engage targets two to twenty-one!"

The drones turned towards a long line of combat dummies marked in GJ blue wearing mock up uniforms roughly on par with GJ standard. The discs flew into the targets and blasted the group apart with repeated throws. Drakken nodded again, smiling as the tests kept coming in positive. He had something, and maybe something to finally allow synthodrones to match GJ agents with more than just huge numbers. He smiled and pointed down a larger range designed to test the limits of their range. "Eliminate _all targets_!"

That turned out to be a mistake, the drones were throwing discs left and right at random. Drakken dove out of the way as a disc grenade flew towards where he was standing and it sailed over, exploding onto the reinforced walls harmlessly. He crawled forward to avoid being spotted as he realized there was a glitch in the system, trying to find where he'd dropped the remote as the drones started blowing up anything that looked remotely like a target. He dove to the left as a disc skidded off the ground next to where he was and sailed away, realizing he was getting boxed in between the wall and an explosive.

Several shock stave blasts suddenly came in from above and Drakken looked up, a few henchmen had come down in one of the hover cars Drakken had. He sighed, "Thanks for that. Bob, right?"

"Yes sir!"

"Consider you and your boys a pay grade higher... nice shooting."

"Thanks, boss. Anything else?"

"No, that'll be all for now."

XXX

**Evil Rec Room**

**Dr. Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

"So, how was _your_ evil scheming back then?" Lucre asked in the lair's recreational room, mostly just tables and a (looted) Pac Man machine. He and Hank were on lunch break, and were discussing their previous exploits with Drakken.

"Well, originally I was pulled in as a temp for a temp, some Ray-X device that Drakken had stolen." Hank explained as he sipped his coffee. "Everyone was catching the common cold, so it went from Possible's brothers getting sick, to her herself getting sick, to Shego, to the sidekick, to Drakken, to Killigan, and then it all ended with the original sick being better and Ray-X being trashed. I almost managed to get the twins, though."

"Wow. I helped with the Stock Bot caper, got him the MCD… then Smarty's son stole it to safe some otters."

"Well, wasting otters would be a waste of cute, wouldn't it?" he commented unabashed.

"Oh yeah. So, you do anything more? The Ray X heist doesn't seem like something that'd get you a permanent rec."

"Nah, it wasn't that. You remember Hank's?"

"That overcharging rip-off joint?" Lucre scowled, tightening his grip on his cup's handle. "Just 'cause you add 'gourmet' to the cupcake doesn't mean you can charge more than your competitors and still get all the customers!"

"It worked, and helped cover up the energy signatures of the Atmosfrezer with the rest of humanity's squandering. And the cupcakes were good."

"Never tried them, but I'll take your word for it. Still too costly, though."

"Funds for the bad guy." Hank shrugged. "And legitimately earned, for once."

"Probably earned more than me just asking for a dollar from everyone. Everyone laughed, but the _scale_! A dollar for everyone and we're starting to inch towards getting seven _billion_ people! Even if I only counted the threat for developed countries, I'd still be making a mint! And all I needed was a can of expired Vienna sausages."

Hank fought back the urge to throw up at the thought. There was getting stuff for a bargain… and then there was being flat out gross.

XXX

**Elevator 2A**

**Doctor Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

"So Bob, how much a raise we get out of that deal?"

"About 50%."

"Not much considering we get paid what… minimum wage?"

"Better than nothing, and we don't pay income tax."

"True."

XXX

**Load Residence**

**Middleton, Colorado**

Kim shook her head. "Alright, that sim is tough." She'd gotten taken out again in the simulator. She was able to threaten them, there was no doubt about it, but the techniques she was using made her suspect that they only worked because it was an incomplete recreation. The armor was tough, but she was naturally capable of knocking one down with a leg sweep. But an actual finishing move became tough without a weapon because of how tough they were.

"Yeah, not a surprise. Even the weakest of them would give the strongest human a run for his money." Wade answered, scanning the battle suit as he talked and checking the readings. "Anyways, battle suit is ready for another whirl. I've added a new tech weave into it… it should help block kill magic if it's being used on you."

"Spankin', can you weave it into my other gear?"

"Sure, but it'll take a while. I also got the file you wanted."

"404?"

"Yep. They're Malta's boys." Wade explained as he walked over to his computer and handed her the papers. "I borrowed the GJ file on them. They're basically Malta's attempt to create an elite strike force. The only real GJ recruit he picked up was Will Du, and that was at Doctor Director's insistence. Everyone else is pulled from some non-GJ military. Their main officer is from the British SAS, they got a French GIGN heavy weapons and diplomatic specialist… oh, and get this, they picked up a US marine for their group. The marine also has regenerative superpowers."

"Nice," Kim commented. "Sounds like he'd be something you'd be aware of." It took Wade a moment to realize what she just did.

"Wait, you actually know something about CoD?" Wade asked in surprise. "I thought you didn't…"

"I saw the Tweebs playing it the one time they weren't using video games for parts. One of them commented about some Soap guy being able to take a serious beating."

"Oh."

XXX

**Doctor Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

"I'm interested in this General Duran fellow," Shego commented as they were going over the dossiers of the GJ and ex-PBD officers that they'd eventually need to neutralize. They were planning on neutralizing one of them to kick up some more street cred and put GJ on the defensive. "Guy's involved with DNAmy level mad science…"

"Recruited her, even," Drakken interjected.

"Recruited DNAmy, had a run in with Kimmie, and seems like a total maverick." Shego finished. "Let's not take him out. If anything we might be able to turn him."

"I dunno," Lucre commented, "His spat with Possible was about the fact she was a freelancer. I don't think he'll be sympathetic to well, you."

Shego paused, then shrugged. "Well, maybe we can manipulate him against her, get some infighting going on. Meshing PBD into GJ couldn't have gone completely smooth."

"Get some tension going, then take him out to set it off?" Drakken offered.

"Sounds like a plan, if we get anyone on the inside who can start getting us info to get it going. Let's move onto the next item… what's our next target?" Perkins asked.

"Global Justice supply base in the Alps." Shego said as she booted up the hologram of the planet, which focused on the area. "Apparently it was built on an old WEE listening post taken out in June. They got a shipment of Telthors coming in for storage and later on, distribution. I'm thinking we hit it hard, lay waste, steal everything, and then see GJ's reaction."

"We can probably salvage some good materials and getting GJ weapons opens up very interesting possibilities…" Drakken grinned villainously and his fingers were like a tent as he leaned forward.

XXX

**Airspace of Global Justice Firebase Med-3**

**Cyprus**

"Oh you gotta be bloody kidding me!" Ghast exclaimed as the GJ Hovercraft came into sight of the base... and it was on fire. He immediately hit his radio; "Command, we got a problem!"

_"Copy, what's your situation?"_ a GJ Battlefield Control operative responded over the radio.

"The bloody base is being attacked you useless twit! What the hell's going on?"

_"Med-3 is under attack by unidentified forces, armed with small arms and shock staves. Base is holding but they need assistance..."_

Malta cut in suddenly, _"404, we're going to need to help the base. Get down there, clean out the attackers, and find Wire."_

"Affirmative, sir," Ghast responded before flipping the radio off and glancing to the rest of the taskforce. "Alright boys and girl, lock and load. Reggie, you got point once we hit the ground."

"Yes sir," Paul answered as he pulled out his GJA-13 and loaded it, grenade launcher and all before standing and holding onto the railing next to the drop bay, glancing at Hoover who seemed a little seasick. "What, haven't had a drop before?" he asked the spotter.

"No, just a bad case of nausea." Hoover answered. Giles smirked faintly as he finished assembling his GJA-19. The hovercraft began to descend and the pilot warned that things might get bumpy.

"Church, what do ya see down there?" Ghast asked, as Church was standing near one of the side windows on the craft.

"Full base under attack; looks like they're holding the main command center but the armory's been torched!"

"Bloody brilliant, if the Telthors weren't manned or blown up they'll be online in use by the baddies by now." Ghast muttered, "If you see a Telthor that's shooting at us, hit it."

"Yes sir." Church answered as he charged his modified GJA-21.

The hovercraft shook violently with a cloud of smoke passing by the window, and Hoover suddenly began to puke as Paul nearly hit the wall, but his grip on the roof railings held. _Just like amphibious training,_ he mused briefly, recalling the training beachheads they'd done. _"Holy shit! Taking triple-A, hold on back there!"_ The hovercraft began to shift and turn quickly as they sped down to earth, more explosions and sharp turns jostling the passengers. An explosion hit the side of the hovercraft and blew the engine off, causing the pilot to shout _"What the fuck are henchmen doing with rocket launchers!"_

The hovercraft's remaining engine fired off desperately, slowing the fall down enough that they could land somewhat safely. The entire 404 were thrown around in the landing, landing roughly and Paul's vision became a blur as he tried to figure out what was going on. He groaned, rolling over as the craft came to a stop and shook his head, feeling cuts already starting to mend. He pushed himself up and nodded to Ghast, who'd also managed to survive the crash. "I'll check on the pilot," Ghast said and moved to the front while Paul turned Hoover over. Hoover coughed up dust as Paul offered his hand.

"Come on, we gotta get up and get moving!" he said and turned. Church was up, and Sara was reaching for her medical kit. Will Du had already grabbed his rifle and had taken up position at the blown-open door, checking for hostiles moving towards the craft.

"Where's Giles?" Hoover asked. Paul looked around; he didn't see the sniper anywhere. Ghast came in, looking tired.

"Pilot's bleeding like mad beyond what I can do. The landing hit nose first and he's got bits of the window in him. Sara, get on it!"

"Yes sir!" she said as she hurried up. Ghast glanced around, doing a silent head count.

"We better find Giles. Let's move it!"

They noticed one of the doors was open and moved out through it. Dust and smoke had clogged the air as they came out as fast as they were able. The GJ base was ablaze with gun fire and energy shots crisscrossing the area, explosions going off from grenades and a rocket launcher being used on the heavily armored GJ command center, which was looking like a bunker ready to fall apart. Paul spotted the first of the enemy attackers, a henchman wearing a Kevlar chest piece and under that street clothes and carrying an AK-47 with iron sights. He lined up his rifle with the enemy and took the shot, stun rounds sailing into him and knocking him down. He grunted as a sharp pain came from some of his wounds, causing him to miss subsequent shots at other enemy mercenaries. _Damn it, didn't heal right!_

_"Who the hell was supposed to be in that mech?"_ a GJ soldier shouted over the radio as a Telthor became visible from the wreckage of the armory, marching towards the command center. The attackers hadn't noticed the 404 yet, and were made mostly of what seemed to be henchmen and thugs from the street given half decent equipment, mostly bits of Kevlar body armor and a mix of AK-47 and Belgian-made FN FAL rifles. The Telthor was spinning up its guns and shooting energy rounds towards the windows of the command center. The 404 had opened fire, but in the smoke and confusion the henchmen hadn't noticed them yet.

"I found Giles!" Church shouted. Paul glanced over to see the sniper groaning on the ground, a short blood trail indicating he had pulled himself into cover after somehow being ejected from the hovercraft.

"Great work!" Ghast shouted as he reloaded and ducked behind cover and making sure his radio was on, "Sara, we found Giles! He's out here. The pilot alright?"

_"He'll live as long as he isn't hit in the cross, I'm pulling him out now."_ she answered.

"Copy that. Taskforce, covering fire!"

Church pulled his GJA-21 up and fired a shot which hit the Telthor, blasting into the left side of it and causing it to stumble and the left gun to fizzle out as its power was disrupted. The mech turned and the henchmen finally noticed as Sara hurried to Giles, getting to work with her medical tools to stop the bleeding. Paul fired the grenade launcher add-on to his rifle, the grenade sailing over and on impact detonated, sending a pair of henchmen flying away with their rifles clattering onto the ground. A bullet nicked his shoulder as one of the henchmen got a hit and he spotted his attacker, gunning him down with a quick burst before he ducked back down into cover. Will came up next to him as Church was busy reloading, the Telthor turning towards them and activated his stun watch as a henchman charged with some sort of blade with a glow, shouting as the electricity shot through him and Paul finished him with a quick shot to center mass, which knocked him back.

"Super?" Will asked as the two ducked down into cover.

"Probably; dunno anyone else dumb enough to bring a knife to a gun fight! 'cept maybe an Arabian military..."

Will curled his lip as a rocket sailed over and blew a piece of the wrecked hovercraft's tail off. "How diplomatic." he commented before the two returned to taking down the henchmen, who were now adjusting to their exposed flank when Church took a stray hit from the Telthor, grunting as he collapsed into cover.

"Man down!" Ghast shouted, "Will, get on that 21 and take out that mech, _now!_ Reggie, cover him!"

"Yes sir!" he answered as he took up Will's position and laid down covering fire while the GJ agent hurried to where Church had fallen. He seemed to be alive, and Sara had managed to patch Giles up enough that Hoover had tossed him his sniper rifle and the British man was, from a propped up position making some surprising shots. _Starting to see what Malta saw in him,_ Paul briefly mused as he picked off another mercenary as another rocket sailed over their position. Will had grabbed the GJA-21 and set up it on the rocks they were using for cover like a mounted machine gun; he wasn't strong enough to lift it like Church was. He lined up the shot and pulled the trigger, the recoil shaking him off of it and the GJA-21 spun until it pointed up, but the energy shell hit the Telthor to the viewport and broke into it, the mech collapsing backwards with one dead henchman pilot inside.

"Nice shot, Will!" Ghast complimented as he reloaded again, "We're low on mags; any word on how many of these blighters are left command?"

_"Most of them have stormed the command center,"_ the battlefield control operator responded. _"Corporal Juhziz is suggesting you stay where you are and not attempt to counter-storm. Repeat, do not attempt a counter-storm."_

"Sir?"

Another voice came onto the radio, sounding vaguely Arabian to Paul as he picked off another henchman with a shock staff, _"This is Juhziz; fire in the center. Repeat, fire in the hole at the command center! Detonating in five..."_

Sara had finished tending to the wounds and had started adding her own GJA-13 fire to the engagement, tossing out clips to the others as they were running out of ammo due to having used none of hers.

_"...four, three..."_

Hoover ducked quickly as bullets ricocheted off the concrete slab he was using as cover, dropping the clip he was trying to reload.

_"Two... one... Kaboom."_

Suddenly, fire came from the command center. Explosive shockwaves rippled from the ground floor windows, and out of it came the bodies of henchmen who had tried to storm the building, burning and dead before they hit the ground. The surviving henchmen on the outside were drawn to look at the flames, leaving them exposed as the 404 quickly stunned the lot with a mix of flash bangs and GJA shots. The 404 moved up as the smoke began to die down as automatic fire extinguishers in the command center activated.

XXX

**Global Justice Supply Base Alpine-8**

**German Alps**

Shego nodded to Drakken as they watched the cargo hovercraft take off. The outpost had just been resupplied with Telthor mechs, which they were going to steal... by taking out the entire base roster and then calling the henchmen in. And they were going to pull it off alone, no synthodrone help. It helped a lot that the base was only three dozen strong, and their laser auto-turrets had had an unfortunate 'accident' that resulted in one overloading and another nearly tearing an agent to pieces with energy rounds, so were shut down (Drakken was surprised that it worked at all, but he took what he could). They were both wearing winter gear to deal with the cold, and Shego adjusted her gloves. "So what's the new mode, Doc?" she asked.

"Well, you've gotten a grappling hook mode and can pull someone in, so I figured I'd use that for a little mechanized mayhem." Drakken explained casually before taking a chug of hot Coco Moo from his thermos "The gloves can allow you to pretty much do a miniaturized electromagnetic pulse, and I've done some quick redesign of our stuff to avoid being damaged by it. So if you run into a Telthor or a bunch of rogue synthodrones... shut 'em down."

She nodded, looking down at the base from their hiding place high in the mountain as Drakken put the thermos back into his (surprisingly large) pockets, and they secured the rappel lines they were using. Once they were secure, the two nodded to each other and rappelled down the mountain side, landing behind the supply base's main structure and hurrying to the rear vent, which Drakken opened with a few vines forcefully applied to the bolts, and they crept in.

"This is how Kim Possible always got in?" Drakken asked in surprise. "No wonder the Super Fortress lair failed!"

"Yeah, you'd think people would use a lot smaller vents after the first few incidents, but _no_, everyone uses freaking six footers..." Shego snarkily responded. "Well, add that to the list of things to correct once we take over the world. All evil buildings use vents no larger than two feet in width and less than one foot tall..."

"Yeah, might be a good idea." Drakken said, rubbing his chin briefly as the flowers popped out and he was briefly stuck until he could rip them out. Shego glanced down as they came over the control center, a GJ agent manning a console and glancing up.

"Hey, someone check the vents lately?" the agent asked.

"You worry too much;" another one answered, "Who the heck would want to come all the way out here?"

"Well, Agent Du and that Specter did..." the first agent responded as Shego began to cut the vent open so she could drop down.

"Yeah well... look, just stop worrying. The only way to get in undetected would be to like, drop in from the mountain top and open a vent or something..." The vent's base fell open and Shego dropped down after it. The piece of metal clattered just before she landed and she kept her plasma lit, smirking.

"Good guess," she said before blasting the overconfident agent with a plasma bolt, knocking him out of his chair on his face. Drakken dropped out behind her as she leapt to the agent manning the console as he drew a GJ energy pistol, but she knocked it away with a quick kick before taking the agent down with several swift strikes to the chest and keeling him over the console.

_"Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!"_ went an automated alarm across the base.

"No SHIT!" a GJ agent with a shotgun exclaimed as he pumped it and took a shot, catching Shego in the chest and knocking her back into the other console. _Good thing that wasn't lead or I'd probably be dead,_ she bitterly thought as the pain stung. She growled and rolled away as a second stun blast followed, Drakken turning from the agent he was flinging towards the main door and one of his vines grabbed the agents shotgun, taking it away from him before smacking him in the face with the stock and throwing it to the ground. Shego looked up towards the catwalks as more agents came out with GJA-13 energy rifles and leapt up towards them, swinging up and around on a lower railing and kicking an agent off the catwalk as she landed on it. The agents turned towards her rather than taking shots at Drakken as he brawled with more Global Justice agents, and the one closest to her activated the rifle's energy bayonet. Shego simply smirked and activated the EMP in the gloves, leaping up and landing between the agents, the EMP burst shorting out the energy bayonet before she backhanded the agent who had it over the railing.

"Okay, screw this!" an agent towards the back of the line shouted as Shego began to tear through the agents, "I'm going back to McDonalds!" The smart agent (or cowardly, take your pick) vaulted over the catwalk before landing with a splat ten feet below. She could respect that he had enough intelligence to avoid him... and was disapointed that he chickened out as she tore through the rest of squad, avoiding the energy bayonets that were still active and attempted stock strikes. As she knocked the last agent against the railing and dropped her to the catwalk floor, she looked down at Drakken.

"How we doing, Doctor D?"

"We're doing good!" Drakken answered with a smile as he used his vines to flip a nearly spherical (albeit muscular) GJ agent over and crashing him into the steel flooring hard enough to leave a crater. "Keep it up and this'll be too easy!"

"Too bad," Shego commented as she vaulted down and landed gracefully, "I'm not even warmed up yet."

The door to the main sleeping quarters opened and a GJ agent came out, holding his right hand in a grip and drawing a blade from his back. It was of an industrial design with four lines of some sort of emitter, which glowed yellow. The agent closed his eyes and when he opened his eyes again they glowed too. "Then prepare to be defeated." he said simply, before taking a leap at her and bringing the blade down, cutting partway through a console with a hum that sounded like it came from a Sci-Fi movie as the blade was swung. Shego leaned away from his follow up strikes and dodged his assault. _Great, a super who has a lightsaber. Go figures..._ She saw an opening as he tried a harder swing and took the chance, hitting him in the chest with a plasma charged punch and knocked him back. Then, to her surprise, he did a back flip up to the catwalk and landed easily, before holding the blade to the side and using his other hand to taunt her with a simple gesture.

Shego obliged, leaping to the catwalk and swinging up from below. The super had brought his blade up and had she gone straight to the top she probably would have been cut in two, but she swung up again and hit him from behind, knocking the blade into the ceiling. Shaking his head and recovering from the blow, he took a stance she recognized as belonging to Mantis Kung Fu. She smirked, realizing he might be a bit more of a challenge than she originally thought. She made the first move, hitting him in the chest but he rebounded from the blow and returned the favor, catching her in the shoulder and it felt like there would be a small bruise left behind. The two struggled briefly as they locked before Shego knocking him against the railing and kicked him in the chest, making him stumble back into the already subdued GJ agents. She charged her plasma again to put some power behind it before blasting him square in the chest, knocking him out and adding him to the pile. _Guess he wasn't _that_ tough,_ she mused, realizing that if he hadn't taken the moment to ham it up like a villain, he might of gotten the drop on her.

Drakken was working on the console when she got back down and nodded to her, "I managed to rig the self destruct. Once we've taken care of anything I can activate it without issue. Turns out they missed a router in the firewall you could only get into from here. Sloppy, but it was there since Gemini's goons ran this place."

"Good, that oughta annoy Doctor Director. Let's call the henchmen in and loot the place dry."

XXX

**GJ Firebase Med-3**

"So you're Wire, eh?" Ghast said as he folded his arms, looking at the Jordanian man in Global Justice uniform. He was relatively slim, but the amount of explosive tools such as wires strapped onto various tactical belts told him that this man was no dabbler, even if he didn't have a single explosive on his person at the moment.

"Yes sir, Corporal Yasir "Wire" Juhziz. I was told I'd be assigned to your taskforce."

"That's correct." He offered a hand, "Welcome to the 404."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. What's our first assignment?"

"General Malta is going to brief us." he explained, "Base's briefing room still intact?"

"No, but the communications suite is. We holed up in there when I set the explosions off."

"That'll do." He activated his radio; "Reggie, Du, Hoover, Cleaver, meet me in the communications suite so we can contact Malta for brief." He got a chorus of affirmatives and switched off.

In the briefing room, Ghast noticed that Reggie was giving Wire a suspicious, almost dirty, look. _Wonder what that's about,_ he thought briefly as he nodded to them. "Wire, meet the 404. 404, meet Wire."

"A pleasure," Sara said with a nod. Reggie just grunted while Will simply nodded.

"So," Reggie asked, "Where'd you learn the fireworks?"

Ghast almost stopped dead in his tracks, about to make a comment about tact when Wire answered for him. "I used to work in a quarry as a demolitions expert for blasting rock too tough to carve. When the aliens hit, the quarry was destroyed and I decided to ply my experience with Global Justice. Their munitions are fairly similar to what I worked with, just a little more advanced and in a lot of cases more exotic, but surprisingly malleable. The explosion which cleared the command center was actually a series of GJD-03 Anti-Personal Mines manipulated to fire off together and with some incendiary charges thrown in. We knew we couldn't hold them, so Colonel Garza had me set up a series of explosions to flush them out. It'll take time to repair, but we weren't expecting help in time and she wanted us to take any measure possible to survive."

"I... see." Reggie answered, deflated. Ghast knew the warning sign, though. _Ah, 'course. His old unit got destroyed by suicide bombers, and he's probably falling into the trap of regional misses._ He'd let it lie, for now, but he made a mental note to have several methods of confrontation ready if needed to keep order in the Taskforce. He dialed up Malta, and the general appeared.

"General Malta, sir. We've recruited Wire, but Church and Watcher are going to need medical attention."

Malta sighed, _"Understood. I hoped for better, but we'll just make due. The mission is still a go, however, you'll be deploying north where Big Daddy Brotherson is going to conduct the deal with WEE."_

"The Worldwide Evil Empire?" Will asked, looking up. _Of course the veteran GJ agent caught that,_ Ghast noted with amusement. He still found the set up between GJ and WEE amusing, it was like someone tried a cheap knock off of James Bond. _Least they're a lot more predictable than pretty much every country's Special Forces..._

_"Affirmative. Brotherson has been trying to make dents into Jack Hench's territory. The both did similar services, though Brotherson tended to stick to more conventional equipment. They're currently doing a deal on a stash of NATO chambered munitions. We suspect the attack was arranged by Gemini as a distraction."_

"Any procedural orders given we won't have our heavy weapons and diplomatic expert with us, nor sniper support?"

_"Yes. Set a series of smoke charges and sonic charges in the area for distraction purposes, it'll have to do. Agent Du, you're most knowledgeable of the squad with Brotherson, so you'll be advising."_

Will gulped briefly before nodding. "Yes sir."

_"Bringing Brotherson in is a secondary objective, however, your main goal is to break up the deal and seize Gemini's end of it."_ Malta paused a moment before adding, _"Doctor Director wants to neutralize Gemini for good, and needs the evidence to help locate his new lair."_

"Understood, sir. When's the deal occurring?"

_"Tomorrow. Get some rest tonight, and be on the move to the area at dawn."_ Malta explained. _"Malta out."_ With that, the transmission cut.

XXX

**August 10****th****, 2007**

**Global Justice Headquarters**

**Somewhere under the Tri-City Area**

"Strikes inbound on sectors Alpha, Omega, Beta, Gamma, and Tau!" Agent Talleyrand shouted from his console.

"As expected. Clear Eagle, Bear, and Dragon to fire and begin tracking immediately." Doctor Director ordered.

"Multiple missile launches detected. Eagle has fired their volley. Missiles are on course and are not deviating. Bear has fired theirs with Dragon's following… Most of Eagle's missiles have hit and blasted the target to dust. Most of the debris will go into the atmosphere as small chunks. Eagle missed target 3, however, but nearby explosions is propelling it into grid CO-9."

"Get Possible on the horn then, and get a team ready to clear the area. Track where it'll land."

"Yes ma'am!"

"One of Dragon's is deviating course!" another Agent howled loudly, "Tracking now…"

"Confirmed to be targeting solution error! Missile is going into deep space and will self destruct. They're aiming to set it off next to an asteroid." Another agent said.

"Copy, tracking now."

The command room was tense as reports of missile hits continued to cycle. They were able to get most of the hits, a few misses but most at least detonated close enough to break up the larger fragments. _Thank God we don't need to use more nuclear warheads this time,_ Doctor Director thought as she watched. _One nuke is too much, even if it is a far more noble use of the weapon mankind should never have discovered._

"We've had a general effectiveness, but targets AS-8, AS-0, E-5, E-8, AF-3, NA-3, NA-9, NA-1, SA-6, SA-4, and AU-2 have remained primarily intact due to detonations not occurring at the maximum area." Talleyrand reported as the final results came in.

"Confirm locations."

"All of them are the impacts which will occur in backwater areas mostly uninhabited baring NA-3, which is going into grid CO-9, and E-8, which will land north of Sarajevo."

"Evacuation in progress?"

"The endangered area has been evacuated. The fragment was mostly broken, however, so return should be possible once the area is swept and confirmed to be safe again."

"Hang on, we got some additional fragmentation. Looks like it's a natural spread from reentry heat!"

"Track it all as much as possible." Doctor Director snapped at the officer, "and get every team on alert."

XXX

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

"Sensei?" Ron asked, blinking as he yawned, "What is it?"

"You should see this." Sensei explained sagely. Frowning, Ron pushed himself up and walked out, Rufus following behind him before crawling up onto his shoulder. Outside in the early morning hours, several students were pointing towards the sky where a series of comet like trail were visible, almost a rainbow glow to it. _I wonder if we'll get some new heroes,_ he mused as he recalled Team Go.

"It's beautiful," Ron commented, appreciating the natural beauty of it.

"Indeed," Sensei said sadly, "It is tragic how such beauty will only lead to suffering."

"Huh?" Ron asked.

"The ritual which you helped disrupt was of vulnari summoning." Sensei explained (again), "And now, what had succeeded of it has reached Earth. Taken from the nearest source, the magic has created catalyst crystal which would hold the vulnari."

"Wait, by the looks of the thing it looks like it should be Team Go's stuff..."

"It is possible that the origin of their powers came from a place with similar crystal. Likely, even, from what you have described of them."

"So these vulnari have traits of Team Go?"

"No... but it is possible again that the crystal medium may have some common ancestry. You made a wise connection, but even the most brilliant scholar can think too much."

"There's a contradiction, considering some people..." Ron commented with a hint of bitterness as he thought of some of the stupid he'd read about online. Several other trails were now speeding up to the incoming comet trail, and he saw flashes in the night. Sensei exhaled softly.

"Come," he said, "The nations of the world have managed to further minimize and maximize the damages. By shattering what remained intact of the original asteroid into even smaller pieces, the vulnari will take even longer to reform when the impacts happen, and will be far more spread out."

"But in the process made them harder to contain?" he asked worriedly as the two began to walk back inside.

"In some ways, but in the early phases limited resistance will give him to shift resources towards dealing with the problem. However, the spread of ground now means that it will take longer to get to each place and there is even more places to guard. Even the swiftest of warriors cannot be everywhere at once." He looked to him as the two stopped. "Now, however, you must prepare. The Conclave will send small strike teams to various locations to cleanse infestations, and Yamanouchi has been asked to begin containment in areas nearby."

Ron bowed briefly. "I won't let you down, Sensei."

"No, Stoppable-san," Yori said as she walked up behind him, "You shall not, nor shall any of us."

XX

**Possible Residence**

**Middleton, Colorado**

"Talk to me, Wade," Kim said as she pulled her gloves on and knelt next to the footlocker with her other mission gear, putting her hand on the scanner lock.

_"Kim, Doctor Director wants you down south in a place called Small Town, USA..."_ Wade caught himself with a cough, _"Colorado. GJ's sending a few teams to investigate the debris crash site there, but she'd like you present as it's a relatively intact chunk and they've gotten a large number of strange readings from it, some of which are spreading."_

Kim nodded as she pulled the battle suit out and started putting it on, stepping into the leggings. "Tell her I'll be down there, and I'm bringing the battle suit. Any idea what it is?"

_"Yeah, they match the readings from Russia. This was definitely caused by whatever ritual you busted there was."_

"Any hits in Japan?" Kim asked as she zipped the boots that went with the battle suit.

_"Several shards landed in Japan, one near Y."_ Wade didn't say Yamanouchi aloud; both of them knew that GJ might of put bugs there, and even then the rest of Kim's family wasn't in on the secret ninja school.

"Alright; tell me if anything crazy happens there. What else do we know?" She finished buckling the tool belt and was holstering her other gear; EMS, grappling hook, shock stick, all of it.

_"Not much, but they're already getting people away from the shard site."_

Kim nodded as Wade transferred to her wrist Kimmunicator; "Alright then, I'm going to the Sloth now."

_"Good luck out there. Wade out."_

XX

**Doctor Drakken's' Caribbean Lair**

"Alright Bob, fire up the mech!" Lucre said to the henchman inside. The henchman began activating the mech, and with a hum and an engine's roar, the mech stood to its full height and the torso turned slightly, guns turning as he tried the aim.

"It's working!" Bob answered.

"Good," Drakken said, walking up behind Lucre. "I was hoping we'd be able to use these. Nothing more ironic then turning the technology of good guys against them... and it's a classic method."

"Wow, so we're like, doing it the right way?" Lucre said with excitement at the prospect of repeating villainous tradition right and at a bargain.

"Indeed. I've already come up with some modifications for the design, and with the few we designated for reserve engineering, it shouldn't be hard to replicate it."

Shego leaned out from the observation window above the range, "And about time too, we got incoming!"

"What is it?" Drakken asked.

"GJ was overseeing a bunch of missile launches at some incoming meteors or whatever; they fragmented and one of them coming for us!"

Drakken cursed, "If nothing bad from _those_ happens, then GJ will probably be coming here to investigate the impact zone!" He grit his teeth. "Alright then, let's lock the lair down for a fight. This isn't Possible, so we can win. I'm sure of it."

XX

**Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron was almost ready. He'd worn his mission gear for this, and the sheathe for the Lotus Blade as it felt most appropriate given what he was about to be involved with. He buckled the his belt on and the last of his gear to it, and sheathed the Lotus Blade to the back-mounted sheath. He turned, nodding to Rufus who gave him a quick thumbs up, and stepped out of his room.

"Stoppable-san, you should know this." Sensei said, coming down the hall. "The Conclave is sending a team to Colorado, where Kim is bound."

Ron blinked a moment before it clicked and he felt a tug at his heart; "Are they going to try and pin her into that prophecy stuff?"

"They have been ordered not to begin any violence or act with closed fists, but the leader is prideful, and in his pride may take actions not reflecting high moral character. I do not foresee problems for Kim, for if battle came I am confident that she would prevail, but you deserve to know."

Ron nodded, "Thank you, Sensei. Pass along that if they hurt her, nothing is going to save them, alright? They've nearly killed her once, I won't let that happen again without consequence."

Sensei returned the nod. "We are of one mind, then." He pulled a small scroll from his sleeve and gave it to Ron, "This is the location of where the impact will happen. Go there, and clear the area. Remember what you have been taught."

Ron looked it over briefly, seeing that it was relatively close to the volcano that he'd rescued Yori from two years ago, and closed it.

XX

**Doctor Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

Drakken folded his arms as he watched through the monitor. "Are those shields working?"

"No, Doctor Drakken, your prototype power source is not working and the lorwardian shield technology has not been fully adapted to our systems yet."

He sighed. _Oh well, I'll figure it out later._ "Then get everyone inside and brace for impact. Laser turrets ready?"

"Yes sir, lasers charged and ready!" another henchman answered from across the makeshift control center that had been established. Some of the henchmen jokingly called it 'The Bridge' because it looked like the bridge of a ship.

"Very well. Shego, how are things on the ground?"

_"Everyone's ready and the drones are charged. Sure those science drones of yours will work?"_

"As long as they don't try to charge into combat they should be able to collect some samples safely. If GJ is going to lock down the area we need to get some samples while we can..."

"Impact imminent!" a henchman shouted loudly, cutting them off. Drakken looked out the window as the flaming piece of rock sped by in a dazzle of color. He blinked, swearing he'd seen something like that before.

"Shego?" he asked as the impact seemed to be landing just south of them, on a nearby island. "Is that looking like..."

_"Yeah, it does..."_ Shego slowly answered. _"You don't think?..."_

"I hope not." Drakken said as the ground shook, nearly collapsing as the impact was finalized. He looked out and nodded. "Alright Shego, go ahead. I'll keep scanning for GJ response teams."

_"Got it, Doctor D. Be back soon..."_

XX

**Southern Island**

Shego nodded to the science synthodrones, "Alright, get to work you lazy robots."

"Yes sir." the drone answered. Shego smirked; Drakken still hadn't fixed that bug in the new synthodrone AI program. It only used 'sir', and never used ma'am. The impact looked like a meteor, but it glowed a mix of colors. But yet, despite the rainbow mix very much like the comet that had given her the powers she now had, she didn't get the same vibe. First, this one had survived the impact while the original comet had fallen into powder after it crashed. Second, the radiation readings were distinctly different according to Drakken, but didn't seem harmful. Third, there was something malevolent about it, while the powers themselves never had that feel until she gave them that meaning.

Suddenly, there was a loud, earsplitting roar that reminded her of a monkey, a ghostly one, and there was an explosion of color from the asteroid and whips of color began to form into solid looking forms... animal ones.

"We got incoming!" Shego shouted as she took a short leap backwards and lit her plasma, ready to start clawing into whatever freaks came from the impact.

XXX

XXX

XXX

**End Chapter**

***Happy New Years, everyone. For some of you it's after midnight, but for me its before. Either way, I'm celebrating this new year with a new chapter.**

*** I'm not sure if I explained this before, but when I designed the vulnari, I had a few inspirations. Primarily were the ghost monkeys used in **_**What's the Switch?**_**, with splashes of zerg (Starcraft), monstrous ghosts/ghost likes (a number of sources, including but not limited to D&D and Danny Phantom), and Shivians (City of Heroes/Villains) I originally designed them as a monster enemy when I was playing around with the Neverwinter Nights toolset, and eventually figured that they'd mesh pretty well here for multiple purposes. First of all, a guilt-free summon for even good guy magic users. Hey, when you summon that badger, boar, or dire wolverine to your side, aren't you yanking it from its day to day life to fight for you? Second of all, the idea in the original design was a monster where it wasn't hitting it with the biggest stick, but hitting it with enough sticks. So an explosion (or at least the initial burst) would do just as much to a vulnari as a bullet through the ectoplasm would, and you need multiple 'hits' to do so. I think that in the end I like how they came out as a foe; they're something that technology of all ages can fight (Which helps mesh Conclave and regular military operations against them), but they're infinite enough that I never run out. Besides, vulnari running rampant on top of all the stuff that's happened before really lets a good villain like Shego manipulate people, doesn't it? It's how a lot of dictators in history came to power. They offered a solution where there was none.**

*** The simulation of the lorwardian warrior was me testing the waters a bit. Its incomplete because Wade didn't have a full data spectrum to work from, but I also wanted to show how a theoretical fight **_**could**_** go. Now, do I expect Kim to get impaled in every fight? No, I actually attribute that more to the fact that since it was a simulator I could get away with impaling her than her skill, but could a lorwardian defeat her? Definitely, and for reasons explained above. Lorwardians may be the Mandos, Klingons, Predators, what have you of KP, but they're also probably among the least developed villains in the later seasons of the series.**

*** Wire was, from the start, meant to be a bit of a 'screw you' to stereotypes. His character name is a shout out to another bomb-making crazy from every Generals' fan's favorite brand of scum, but the idea was he's an average guy who's going to wind up having to deal with the stereotype all because he happened to work in a quarry and was an expert at using explosives. Nothing fishy about it, just how he made his living. The fact he happened to join GJ was more as a set up for how he'd become part of the 404. Sort of a foil to Paul ("Reggie" as his nickname is because he can regenerate) and how he's a deconstruction of a COD character's ability to regenerate.**

*** Also, if there's any TOR shout outs that slip in, that's probably going to be because I've been rolling a Vanguard on it the last two weeks...**

**-=In-Universe Document: Sensei=-**

_Source: Global Justice Databanks_

File: OPP-03

(Date updated: 9/3/07)

_Subject:__ Name Unknown_

_Alias:__ "Sensei"_

_Gender:__ Male_

_DOB:__ Unknown, suspected to be pre-World War I_

_Classification:__ Magic User; type unknown_

_Origin:__ Magic_

_Affiliation:__ Yamanouchi School_

_Citizenship:__ Unknown, but suspected to possess Japanese citizenship under his real name_

_History:_

_- The figure known as "Sensei" is one that is still a mystery to Global Justice. What is known of him is that he is, to some degree, part of the Conclave, leads the (previously secret) Yamanouchi Ninja School and that he has had regular contacts with Team Possible. These contacts have been kept secret from Global Justice, and have only been brought to light recently due to the conclusion of Operation Pound. What has been divulged is that he is a master of Tai Sheng Pek Kwar, has been instructing Ron Stoppable on usage of the little-known magical area of said martial art, and has contacted the Team on several matters of magic. This includes the recent operations involving the 'Magocracy' (see files GAR-13 and RMC-01), where he played an advisory role. His involvement with incident GAR-13 in Australia was providing, through the actions of Ron Stoppable, information to Kim Possible on the ancient site. His relation in RMC-01 was to send Ron Stoppable to the Magocracy base during the same time Global Justice deployed Kim Possible to the scene._

_- Discovery of Sensei's identity came during a conflict in Japan that was part of Operation Pound. Forward Scout Squadron JST-02 was trailing Ron Stoppable after a successful operation against the vulnari, but were detected and attacked by the party he was accompanying. At Stoppable's insistence, they were allowed to leave. Further scout teams managed to trail him, again accompanying the mysterious squads of ninjas. When Kim Possible was confronted about Ron's actions, she affirmed that she could provide no information to Global Justice on them, only that Ron had gone to Japan to hone his magical abilities... a truth, in retrospect and discovery of the secrecy oaths, but subsequent tapping of Team Possible's communications and a lucky bug which made it into Wade Load's room revealed when she warned Wade of Operation Pound's progress._

_- Following this, Operation Pound initiated an effort into the Yamanouchi area, during which full conflict came with the students of Yamanouchi. While Stoppable was not present, Sensei proved to be a potent defender, stunning all GJ agents deployed near the school before they could verify its location into actionable intelligence. He has made claims that Yamanouchi simply wishes to remain hidden, and bears no ill intent, but Global Justice must be wary. While Team Possible may trust them, Sensei and Yamanouchi as a whole have ties, possibly deep, with an organization that has been behind a series of criminal actions including a break-in of the Tri-City Museum and subsequent kidnapping of Tara Strong (see file MMI-63), of which Sensei knew the criminal's identities and motivations but did not forward to Global Justice or permit Ron Stoppable to forward such information._

_- While Operation Pound's conclusion has seen a peace of sorts between Global Justice and Yamanouchi, GJ is keeping a close eye on this Sensei's actions. However friendly he may seem, past actions and secrecy means that GJ cannot be ignorant of his actions in the future._

_Combat Style:_

_- What has been gathered on this Sensei's style is that he is a powerful magic user, but unlike many he shows remarkable restraint. He has willingly tapped into magic, and reportedly used large amounts during the training of Ron Stoppable, but in actual combat he uses it as a last resort. His primary arsenal is an arsenal of mastered kung fu tactics. While primarily he uses the basic forms, his advanced mastery of them means that he is a dangerous foe not to be fought in close quarters if at all possible._

_- When he does deploy magic, however, it is usually in short bursts. He has been confirmed to have an energy blast ability which manifests as a lotus flower before blasting a target, and has been rating to disable and (with lethal intent) presumably obliterate a Telthor mech. However, this ability is sparingly used and if used at full power would presumably tire him based on extrapolation of previous magical encounters. The other primary form of magic he has been seen using is magical shielding, creating barriers which stop GJA energy rounds from striking him. This seems to be a relatively subconsciously used ability as the aura protecting him is faint until impact is achieved._

_Weakness:_

_- If Sensei has any weakness, it is care for his students and Ron Stoppable. He believes that Ron Stoppable is a 'monkey master' of some sorts. While the details are unknown, it has been concluded from available evidence that this is some form of mastery of form than leadership. His other weakness is his own system of honor. If he can be fooled into believing magic is unnecessary, a brief window opens to hit him below his full strength. However, this window is short and requires expert feints or disguise, something which he is adept at discovering from long years of experience._

_Conclusion:_

_- Sensei, despite his rocky relationship with Global Justice, unfortunately represents Global Justice's best contact in the world of the Conclave and magic in general. While he is willing to share knowledge, including the nature of the vulnari, he refuses to share other information with Global Justice, preferring to contact Team Possible. How much he has impacted Ron Stoppable is to be monitored closely, as comparisons of before and after could yield a very interesting insight into his influence on Team Possible. However, regardless of what occurs, Global Justice must watch him and his school as closely as it can. We do not know his true motives or allegiances, even if Team Possible trusts him._

**-=End Document=-**


	22. Chapter 22: The Horde

_"Doctor Director, we have suspicions that the object recovered by Miss Possible on the 27th is related to the impacts we've studied. The energy signatures are far too similar. This may be a chance to learn more about magic by studying artifacts of its usage."_

- General Simms to Doctor Director shortly after the impact sites were scanned.

_"Never thought I'd say this pertaining to real life, but those things have hit points! But only a few... and 90% damage immunity..."_

- Felix Renton, commenting on the unique durability/fragility of the vulnari.

**Chapter 22: The Horde**

**August 10th**

**Southern Island**

**Just south of Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

The ghostly animals howled and charged the platoon of drones, and Shego answered by charging into the fray. Several swift punches dissipated the first of the creatures, and bursts of shock staff volleys sailed into other creatures reforming around the meteor. A single shock staff blast was sufficient to get a reaction, but lone blasts did not kill these... things. Multiple strikes, however, did. Shego discovered that fact quickly, remembering the ghost monkeys in Monkey Fist's castle. _I wonder if these things are related?_ she wondered as she starting pummeling a ghostly badger as it tried to gnaw at her legs. A swift kick knocked it back, and a pair of plasma bolts destroyed it. She glanced up, seeing the creatures clawing through synthodrones and realized that they were in a _bad_ position. "Pull back!" she ordered. "Fighting retreat!" And with the order given, she started moving backwards herself with the drones who continued to pour fire towards the creatures.

_"Shego; what's going on?"_ Drakken asked over the radio. Shego stopped the plasma to her left hand and continued hurling bolts with her right so she could tap the earpiece and talk to the Doctor.

"We're outnumbered here, we're pulling back to the lair." Shego answered, "Get that ride to the beach, _now_!"

_"Can do; I'm sending some reinforcements as well."_

"Worse case worse I'll ditch the drones here and swim, doc, save the other drones in case they come across." she answered as she smacked a creature that had already taken a pair of shrapnel hits from disc grenades with her hand, causing it to dissipate. "Can't do anything more here."

_"Alright, just get back here in one piece."_

"I will," she answered before hanging up and tearing into another of the creatures which charged her, forcing the ape to dissipate. _What are these things?_ she wondered angrily as more drones were being churned up as she fought through the creatures. She could avoid their swipes, but they just took too many hits for her to be able to reliably hit one and go. A gray, wolf like creature leapt at her, coming down on her from above. Shego rolled backwards so her feet struck it in the chest and threw it away towards the rest of the mob, crashing it into one of the other creatures, and hurried for the beachhead.

Drakken's hovercraft was there, and she leapt inside, the surviving science drone and a pair of regular ones hopping in while the other drones, only a half dozen left, held the line and were torn apart. The drones in the hovercraft took shots at the creatures as Shego drove the hovercraft back towards the lair. _That didn't go well..._ she thought, glad the encounter was only a brief one.

XX

**North of Yamanouchi, Japan**

Ron could make out the impact site ahead. It was located in a small valley, with multiple choke points in and out. This would be good for keeping something in there... and bad for anyone trying to get in. He knew that the Yamanouchi ninjas were good, but even they could have problems in a straight up slug fest from their lack of armor. _A lack I have too,_ he reminded himself, _I just tend to take hits and roll with them. Now, let's see what we have..._

"Those choke points could either be really helpful, or really painful." Ron said as they stopped to get a look over the area, covering in snow as it was on the other side of the volcano, and it had landed directly in one of the smaller, more obscure volcanic hot springs. "So, how we going to neutralize this?"

"Magic is the primary method of destroying crystalline cysts contained within these meteors." Yori answered, "So it will be your wielding of the Lotus Blade and usage of magic that will be the key."

"Right... that might of been useful information earlier. Do I just smack it around with magic, or do I need to do something spectacular?"

"Striking it with the Lotus Blade charged by magical energy should be sufficient to expose the cyst itself, and then it can be destroyed."

Ron nodded. "Let's hope GJ or the JSDF don't come in with an airstrike, then. I've already had enough death from above for the year."

"Were you not responsible for some of it? Namely, bringing down the alien space vessel?" Yori pointed out.

"Eh, I just hurled the two aliens at it hard enough it broke into bits. 'Accidently' taking out a couple extra walkers that were still kicking was just a bonus." he sheepishly admitted, "Anyways, we ready to do this?"

The ninjas gave a brief nod, and they began to climb down the cliff face to go towards one of the nearby choke points; they'd plow through it if needed, then take control of the site before anyone else showed up.

XX

**Small Town, Colorado**

"Alright, so what're we looking at?" Kim asked the GJ Agent who had arrived on the scene and took command, a woman named Agent Blanks, who carried a GJA-19 sniper rifle as her weapon of choice. They were on a hill near the farming town that was one of the few which still practiced open-pasture dairy farming. _Helped, of course,_ Kim mused from remembering her Environmental class in High School, _by the fact that the town is inhabited by locavores... otherwise they wouldn't last._ It was mostly open fields, and the shard had crashed in one of the larger ones leaving a crater. It had a multicolored hue which reminded Kim too much of Team Go's origin story, making her wonder just how connected it was.

"Well, Possible," the agent said with a distinct hint of disdain, "We had the crash, but we've also had some odd readings in the buildings. And it's not from the impact itself, we actually checked."

"I get the picture, Agent. I'm going to take a closer look." She tapped a button on her wrist Kimmunicator; "Wade?"

_"I got it, Kim. Just get close to the impact site and I'll do the scanning. While you're at it, some scans of the building might help too."_

"Not a problem. Agent, you coming with me or you going to stay out here?"

The agent narrowed her eyes before sighing, "Well, who am I to question Kim Possible? Alright men, we're heading in. Top off your rifles and charge your electrogauntlets."

_What's her damage?_ Kim wondered; she sure had the snark to fill the whole base camp.

XXX

**Cyprus**

**North of GJ Firebase Med-3**

_"This is Wire; last of the charges have been planted. Hoover and I are coming around to rendezvous with you. Over."_

"This is Ghast; copy that. See you at Barbeque, over." He nodded to them, and Will Du checked the charge on his GJA-15. Fully loaded, fully intact. They were hiding in a back alley near the flea market where the deal was going down, wearing fairly bulky civilian clothing over their Global Justice uniforms to blend in. _Not that these rifles are covert,_ Will mused briefly.

"Orders?" Will asked.

"We're going to go in and talk." Ghast answered with a slight smirk, "Cleaver, you're going to be hanging back with Reggie in case things go south. Du, you're with me. When I say the words 'Bloody Hell', you two will come in with Wire and Hoover to raise hell and get Gemini. We'll keep Brotherson occupied. Will, seeing as you've talked with him before, you'll be the mouthpiece."

"Uh, with all due respect, Lieutenant, all I know is that we need to avoid playing 'thud' with him."

"That's the plan."

Will gulped, and the two slid out of the alley and walked across. A guard glanced at them as they walked in before shrugging. "Enter." he said with a brief gesture to the door, and the two entered. Will immediately saw various things; 'Flea Market' was an understatement; a lot of souvenir dealers had come from all over the Mediterranean. He could make out several Spanish and Portuguese merchants dealing in memorabilia from the Iberian Peninsula, an Italian with way too many crosses in his stall next to an Italian with more wine than Will thought there were barrels in GJ's main storage facilities. He even caught sight of an Egyptian selling books on how to read hieroglyphics.

"There he is;" Will said as he caught sight of Big Daddy Brotherson in a corner, speaking with a man in the distinct uniform of a WEE agent, but fancier... Gemini himself was there.

"How'd Intel miss the fact the blighter would be here personally?" Ghast whispered back angrily. "It's like the blokes don't want us to know what's going on... alright, let's do this. Nice and casual like..."

They walked towards the two criminal scum, and Will could hear the conversation now.

"No, Big Daddy, I want those materials _now_." Gemini angrily stated, "Do not cross me."

"Your agents have no sway over me, little man." Brotherson answered. "If you wish the NATO munitions, you will have to buy them."

"Fine. I'll pay twenty for them."

"Thousand?"

"Of course... we have company." Gemini turned to see the two walking towards them. "This is a private deal, you two. Turn around and walk away." He held his cybernetic hand up and activated a index finger located missile to back it up.

"Bloody hell," Ghast said, "Just looking for some _different_ souvenirs."

Brotherson held a hand up. "What kind of souvenirs, gentlemen?"

"The explosive kind." Will said, hoping that Brotherson didn't recognize him or his precise method of talking. Gemini narrowed his eyes towards them suspiciously.

"Ah, a competitor. Now, which one of you two would play thud?..."

"Sorry to break up your party, raghead," Reggie said as he pointed his rifle at the group, Cleaver, Wire, and Hoover behind him. "But it's over."

"Ah..." Gemini said with a slight grin, "The Four-oh-Forth... Global Justice's new best and brightest under General Malta. I must say, I hoped to meet you."

"And... Juhziz. I remember you." Brotherson cut in.

"Wait," Reggie said as he stared at the newest 404 member. "You know this bastard?"

"He moved into the quarry I worked at after the alien attack because it was convenient for his business." Wire answered. "He didn't expect me to wire the whole place afterwards to keep him from using it until the authorities could kick him out. After that, I joined GJ because I realized how good my demo expertise could be if I used it to help people in other ways."

"I thought I recognized your handiwork. You see, my men are now simultaneously disabling all your charges. A clever move, but ultimately futile."

"I wouldn't, if I were you... you see, I have a certain little device here;" Wire pulled out a small transmitter and grinned. "If you try to disarm or arm one of those without this thing..."

_Kaboom._ A series of dull explosions echoed across the town. The non-lethal sonic and smoke charges had gone off. _There goes our escape plan..._ Will thought, realizing that they were meant to be cover to create confusion. The crowd turned, before someone shouted that there had been a series of explosions. _At least we do not have to worry about accidental civilian casualties; all flash, no substance._ Brotherson's eyes widened like saucers before he regained composure and stood. "Well played," he said, "Well played indeed, but now I take my leave. Enjoy playing Thud... Gemini, you'll have the shipment for that deal if you play it with these scum."

"Happy to," Gemini said as he fired off a volley of missiles, the low-grade warheads stunning the entire squad before they spread out. Gemini sprinted towards the door to make his getaway, Brotherson now behind his bodyguards. Will turned his rifle towards them and opened fire, stun rounds lacing into the burly juggernauts of men as Ghast turned his shotgun towards them as well. The other four were after Gemini.

_"404, this is Malta. Our analysts traced the details of the deal to the storage room above;"_ cracked the earpiece radios as the crowd began to scream and dive for cover as the firefight erupted.

"Yes sir;" Will answered, "The other four are after Gemini."

_"Copy that. Good luck, 404."_

Will stood as the last of Brotherson's guards fell, and reloaded. _Time to move upstairs._

XX

**North of Yamanouchi, Japan**

"They haven't spawned, good." Ron commented as they entered the crater. "Knowing my luck, they'll do it right as I touch the impact..."

"Spawn?" Yori asked.

"Appear, drop in, arrive... basically, show up suddenly to mess up our day." he answered with a shake of his head and drew the Lotus Blade, stepping towards the crashed meteor fragment. "Okay then... one smashed meteor, coming - aw... fiddlesticks..."

Right as he was approaching the meteor, ghostly animals began to materialize from the meteor. Vulnari, resembling various animals. The Yamanouchi students reacted quickly, however, and began engaging with deft hand-to-hand combat as the vulnari materialized. Ron turned as a vulnari shaped as a moose appeared, Drakken's obsession of taking Canada coming into mind briefly as he brought the Lotus Blade down to strike it. It howled from the hit, sounding like a moose with special effects added in to make it sound like a ghost before it rose onto its hind legs like a horse to stomp him. Ron rolled clear before he was crushed under it and slashed again before finishing it with a punch. The vulnari howled, and vaporized, the fragments of red energy still around in wisps speeding into the meteor. He caught sight of Yori deftly taking a monkey-like vulnari out with her combat fans before turning his attention to another vulnari charging in and leapt up, charging magic as he came crashing down onto the target. The vulnari howled loudly as Ron finished it with two more strikes.

"Ow!" he shouted as another vulnari came up from behind and bit him. He shook the badger shaped critter off before striking it with a flurry of strikes from the Lotus Blade, and took a moment to stop the bleeding with magic. Immediately after he was sure he stopped the bleeding, he glanced at the meteor and realized he had to end this fight _now_. He charged magic towards the Lotus Blade, the ancient katana glowing blue as he leapt at the meteor, bringing the Lotus Blade down with as much force as he could. The blade met the meteor and cut into it, a chromatic cascade of energy spewing forth from where he hit it, blinding him as he hit it again, and again. He heard a woman calling to form a defensive line as he plunged the Lotus Blade deeper into the meteor, now using his magic to shield himself from the heat of the energy speeding towards him.

Suddenly, the Lotus Blade became stuck and the cascade stopped. Ron opened his eyes, seeing several of the Yamanouchi students hurrying clear. _Uh oh,_ he thought as he pulled the Lotus Blade out of the meteor and saw inside that it was glowing like a demon about to blow... literally. "I'm outta here!" Ron shouted as he ran away, vulnari howling, clawing, and reaching towards him like a herd of wild animals. _They might actually of once been that,_ he realized in a brief epiphany when the air heated up...

"Stoppable-san!" Yori shouted from above the chokepoint they had entered, and Ron leapt up. A quick double-click with his heels and his rocket boots activated, shooting him up and to the edge, Yori and another Yamanouchi ninja pulling him up as the vulnari roared at them from below.

"Can't they climb?" Ron asked, checking to make sure he had the Lotus Blade and felt his pocket to make sure Rufus was still there.

"Yes," Yori answered, "But... they won't be able to." She pointed towards the meteor and he looked towards it. It was falling in on itself, magical energy whirling around the crater it had made towards it, sucking vulnari into it before it suddenly burst into a flash of light, forcing them to avert their eyes. When the flash ended, there were only a few glowing rocks left.

"It just me, or was that too easy? Like someone needed to get this done pronto or something..." Ron commented, surprised at how easy it was to take it out.

"I suspect that they are easier to destroy when they have just arrived than when they have existed for some time." Yori answered before Ron's attention was drawn to the vulnari which had survived... and were now clawing up the chokepoint's sides. "We now need to remove what remains."

Ron nodded, turning the Lotus Blade into a long-shafted spear and moving it over the cliff; "Someone want to help me poke these guys before they get up here?"

XXX

**Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

"Alright Doc, I have no idea what these things are, but they're swimming our way." Shego said as they watched the monitor which had observed the impact site. The _things_ were slowly swimming across, moving like a massive horde of molasses. The scanners had detected a GJ hovercraft squadron landing near the island, but so far GJ hadn't made a move yet. "I got a feeling we're going to be knee deep soon."

"Yes..." Drakken said with a frown as he paced, doing a mental calculation. The lair's defenses were not calibrated for a siege lasting beyond several days. They'd need to power down in order to cool, get new power cells cycled in, and the henchmen who manned things would need time to sleep, drones would need replacement or, if they somehow survived, recharge. "I suppose the only hope we have is that it takes forever for them to get here. Perkins, ETA?"

"One hour, Doctor," Hank answered. "We need four in order to evacuate personnel, and an additional three if we plan on evacuating the equipment."

"In other words," Shego said, "We need to make a choice now if we want to evacuate and relocate or try and hold the line." She paused, wondering if she shouldn't call Ginner and his buddy Mannichus in; they might actually know something about these things. "I'm voting for hold the line. Either way we need to use the time we have to get ready."

Drakken nodded, "I'll see about setting up a fall-back retreat option in case things get ugly. Have the henchmen not working on our defense to get personal belongings and the like stowed for a rapid evacuation, that should cut down the time later. I'm going to go down to the lab and see if I can't make something useful..."

"What's our biggest problem?" Shego asked. "You mentioned power and heat? I say fix that problem first. Like, something to draw the heat into another source so it can keep spitting out laser or whatever."

Drakken paused, "That... that actually might be a good idea, Shego. A heat sink..." he smiled, the smile of a mad scientist getting a new idea, and he pulled his PDA out and started typing into it. "I'll call you when I have something." With that, he walked out of the room, muttering to himself. Shego gave Hank a shrug.

"Alright, what else do we have?"

"The Telthors we stole are good to go now." Hank said as he read off a handheld electronic clipboard, "Their energy based chain guns should be useful in turning any attack by these things into a turkey shoot and might be useful in turning the tables. The laser turrets are still charged, both Drakken's models and the HenchCo Mark VI Lashers, and are awaiting at the perimeter to open fire on any intruders... including Global Justice if they attempt to attack."

"Alright... nothing left to do but dig in more sandbags at the perimeter and have some secondary lines ready if we need to pull back." Shego frowned as she looked at the display screen. It was a top down of the island, and it was tracing the locations of the turrets and major concentrations of henchmen, synthodrones, and also marked the individual positions of the Telthor mechs, still in the garage. "I'll be down there shortly. Lucre still away?"

"Yes; apparently there was some scavenging deal in Havana to get good stuff for dirt cheap if you know where to look. Didn't say what it was, though. Or he didn't know."

"Keep a lookout for him coming back then, knowing Lucre..."

XXX

**Small Town, Colorado**

"Here's the site," Agent Blanks said with a slight scowl as they reached the impact site, "Go on and amaze us with your oh-so-superior talents, hero."

Kim scowled as she walked towards the crashed meteor, Wade had the scanner ready to go and all she needed to do was turn it on. The nearby buildings, mostly barns and farm houses, had made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Something wasn't right... it felt too much like a trap. She knelt next to the meteor and held the wrist Kimmunicator up to it, and started scanning.

XX

"Sir, the impact site is not far. However, it seems Kim Possible reached it first."

Casavir Alymer, a Conclave paladin trained in use of magic and physical combat in unison, nodded. "Be ready, then. If they are ambushed, we must force our way through..."

"Vulnari, on the right!" a swordsman shouted as he pulled his longsword out and entered a shield stance. Several ghostly vulnari of various animals, an abnormally large Meer cat, a warthog, and a monkey with a more ghost-like tail came from the small barn which had the magical radiance of an infested structure. He smirked before he channeled magic towards him, building up the burst as the vulnari rushed towards him and let the energy spread, obliterating the vulnari with nothing more than a faint daze that always accompanied magic usage.

"Harris, you know what to do." Casavir said to the flame specialist, and the caster nodded, charging magical energy of a fiery color before he shot the building with it, setting it ablaze. It would burn down soon, and with it the infestation would be burned clear.

"It's done."

"Move out."

XX

_"Kim, get out of there!"_ Wade shouted, _"The energy is starting to spike!"_

Kim's eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen. "Everyone, move it! Get back!"

"Now what... _holy shit!_" Blanks shouted as she leapt backwards, vulnari erupting from the meteor in a burst of aggression. Kim whirled around as one shaped like a German Sheppard leapt at her, tackling her and knocking her on her back. Kim grabbed it's neck instinctively, the simulator Wade had put her through after a villain employed attack dogs coming back to her mind and she shoved it to the side. It howled from the hit before she kicked it and leapt back up, throwing it into another vulnari. The GJ agents opened fire with their GJA's, but discipline broke quickly and the Global Justice agents routed, Blanks not even trying to stop them or taking a glance back to see how she was doing.

"So much for no man left behind..." Kim muttered as she leapt away from the vulnari pack and sprinted after them, when one of the buildings began to have vulnari come from it and cut off the GJ retreat. The panicking agents skidded to a halt, only a few of them able to keep enough wits about them to open fire. Kim caught up with Blank and gave her a scowl before leaping in to save a GJ agent with a shotgun from a vulnari that had clawed at him, giving him room for a medic to step in and check the wounds.

"They're right on top of us! It's the end! THE END!" a hysterical agent shouted as he dropped her rifle and ran. Kim sighed. _Some people just aren't cut out for combat._ She leapt towards the vulnari coming on their retreat again, hurling a pair of sonic mines into the pack, taking out an aardvark shaped vulnari with a quick flurry of punches before she backflipped out of range and tapped the detonator, setting off the two primed sonic mines. A GJ agent had got his wits together and opened fire into the weakened vulnari, taking the twice hit vulnari out with a spray of shots. Kim took a glance back and saw Agent Blanks directing them back towards a pile of rocks that they could take cover behind. _Cover... let's hope that helps,_ Kim thought as she took steps backwards, bending away from vulnari attacks and retaliating as she covered the retreat when she heard several battle cries...

_Beep beep be-beep._

"Talk to me Wade!" Kim asked hotly as she avoiding another vulnari's attack and hit it back.

_"Kim, I just picked up a group of signatures... magical signatures, making a beeline for these things."_

She blinked as she saw a burst of yellow light burn through several vulnari entirely and stun four more, and then saw a charge of metal, accented with purple markings, a large man in plate armor clobbering through several vulnari with a large flanged mace. _So now the Conclave's helping, huh?_ she thought bitterly as she leapt backwards. "Agent Blanks, we got company!"

"I see them, Possible! Who the fuck are they?"

"Apparently on our side!" she retorted as she tackled a vulnari and brought the ghostly ape to the ground.

The Conclave team punched through, the plate armored man and a man in a set of robes burning through the main push with a half dozen swordsmen escort hacking through and covering the flank. The large man came up to Kim as she had fallen back to the makeshift cover, the GJ agents watching the Conclave fighters carefully.

"Kim Possible," the plate armored man said with a faint nod as he stood about three meters from her. She could make out the purple Conclave markings on his bulky armor. "I am Casavir Aylmer, a well trained paladin of the Conclave. Skilled as you may be, fighting this infestation is a matter where we are more experienced. I would advise you leave, and allow us to purge the region."

"You know this screw?" Blanks asked as she aimed her sniper rifle at him.

"Nope," Kim answered, "All I know is that he's with the guys who broke into the Tri-City Museum... the first time, not the second strike that actually worked."

"I don't buy it." Blanks said, "Why they so interested in you?"

Before the paladin could open his big mouth about the prophecy garbage, Kim cut in. "They've got a lot of weird stuff... weird powers, obsession with ye olde days, that sort of stuff. Alright, Casavir, what're you doing here?"

"As I said, we are here to purge the vulnari infestation. The buildings which now contain vulnari have been infected, and the only answer is to burn them down. We attempted to avert this, but your actions in preventing the recovery of the _Liber Arcessere_ allowed the Magocracy to steal it."

"That just went over my head. Possible, you deal with this guy, I'm checking on my men..." Blanks said before she turned away. Kim appreciated the room to work.

"Look, Casavir, I don't care if you had noble intentions or not, you went about it all wrong. Throwing around 'I told you so' isn't going to win you any friends."

"But it is the truth, as the truth you have tried to reject is true."

Kim rolled her eyes. "Look, we going to talk all day or actually do some good?" She tapped the Kimmunicator; "Wade, you get this?"

_"I got it, Kim."_

"Good," Casavir said as if that was all he needed. "Then you have it on your records. You now have the knowledge that these buildings, infected with vulnari, must be cleansed with fire and obliterated, so no trace of them remain. Are you prepared to assist in this task, or shall we do so?"

_"Actually,"_ Wade said as Kim noticed vulnari gathering in the distance, _"It'd be better to contain for now. Doctor Director is sending in Telthors and heavy equipment for a garrison. Pin the vulnari up, and do some actual research on these things instead of leaving it to the oh-so-trustworthy mystics who keep acting like we're children just because we use actual science instead of hocus pocus."_

"You will only learn the death of your comrades by leaving the buildings intact." Casavir answered, "My men shall cleanse the structures. Assist us if you will... and Possible, you should come to the Conclave. You know what fate will call you for."

"We got bigger issues, right now." Kim answered, pointing behind the Conclave squad. "Here comes another wave. Agent Blanks, you there?"

Blanks, who had come back with her now organized team cocked her sniper rifle and nodded, "Yeah, we're ready. So what's the plan?"

"We're going to do Doctor Director's plan; pin the place up for the eggheads." Kim answered before glancing at Casavir, "Look, if we need to do some burn to save innocent lives we will, but if we can learn more, we might get some ways you magic boys might not have out of it."

Casavir paused, "Fine. We do it your way, but the deaths will be on your conscience."

"And the deaths averted because we do our research will make it easier to sleep at night," Kim retorted hotly as she stepped to the forefront and entered a combat stance as the first of the vulnari came into range, and the GJ agents opened fire.

XXX

**Cyprus**

**North of GJ Firebase Med-3**

_"Gemini's going to the roof!"_ Hoover shouted as Reggie vaulted over the fence, seeing the WEE leader hurrying into a home.

"Cut him off!" Reggie ordered as he and Wire moved up behind him when a burst of shock staff fire came from a market stall. The two dived to cover on opposite ends of the road and lined their shots up against the two thin WEE agents. Cleaver leaping above the alleyway with her GJA-13 blazing, taking out the agent that he was going to take out while Wire took out the other and they continued moving on, Cleaver and Hoover on the roofs, Reggie and Wire on the street. He could make out Gemini on the roofs and loaded a flash grenade into his rifle's grenade launcher, firing the tube grenade onto the roof. Gemini saw it and shot a missile from his cybernetic hand at it before turning and shooting two at Hoover. The spotter threw himself on the floor, skidding over with his rifle clattering down to the street as he hung onto a clothesline desperately, and it was coming down. Reggie moved to where he was going to fall and grabbed him as he came falling down, and ended up leaving the spotter on the ground like he was tackled in football.

"Thanks," Hoover said as he looked up to see Cleaver still on Gemini's trail, Wire taking point. Following him and now able to see the helicopter, Reggie knew they were running out of time as they sprinted through the practically clear streets. _Thank God for civvies smart enough to get the hell out of the way,_ he thought as he turned to avoid running into a car and brought his GJA's sights in line with Gemini, firing and hitting the WEE leader.

_"He's staggering! Keep hitting him!"_ Cleaver shouted over the radio as she opened fire. Gemini was stumbling now, weakened by the 404th's stun rounds. Reggie was about to get into stun grenade range when a shock staff blast caught him square in the chest, knocking him backwards and he looked up to see a full team of mercenaries with shock staves lined up. The other two had taken cover. _Damn,_ he thought as he saw the in-cover mercenaries, _This might take too long, that cover is going to stop any GJA rounds... this is why we need Sir Isaac fucking Newton for our guns, or some better range on the grenade launcher..._

"Cleaver, stay on Gemini, we'll punch through!" he ordered as he pulled himself to the side and made sure his rifle was reloaded, his powers already nullifying the fraction of the shock blast which had gotten through his armor. Wire was in cover, fiddling with something as Reggie came up next to him. "The hell you doing?"

"Clearing the path," Wire said as he was putting flash charges together with a sonic one, wiring them together and checking a detonator.

"Use your gun, not a piece of glorified C4!" he retorted, "You don't have the throw!"

"I know, you'll cover me." He nodded as he connected the last one. "Alright, now or never."

_This fucking idiot..._ Reggie thought as he ducked. These mercenaries, despite their impractical equipment, were good. He aimed a rifle grenade and lobbed it over, the stun grenade exploding against their cover as it came just short. Wire took the chance, leaping over the barricade and moving to the next bit of cover with his makeshift bomb.

"Sir, cover Wire!" Hoover called shakily as he laid down his covering fire and stopped as his rifle ran out of ammo. _Damn it,_ Reggie thought as he rose again to open fire, and Wire closed the distance again before throwing the makeshift bomb. It landed right on the barricade, and he hit the detonator...

The flash nearly blinded Reggie as he ducked back into cover, the sonic boom of harmonic resonance echoing in his ear. He glanced back up, and saw all the henchmen were down. _Nice job... raghead._

"It's clear!" Hoover shouted.

"Go, go, GO!" Reggie shouted as the three stormed into the building as Gemini's helicopter began to whirl up. They sprinted up the stairs, and Reggie switched the rifle to kill. He wasn't letting this guy get away, and opened fire on the helicopter's rear rotor. Gemini turned, looking tired but still shocked as the helicopter's engine gave out and he crashed along the road before pushing the helicopter door open and leaping out, landing on the roof with them as the helicopter crashed into the large junkyard behind the house. Gemini grit his teeth, a dog carrier in his organic hand. He dropped the carrier and the dog within whimpered.

"Fine. You want to destroy my ride? I already took care of your little parawhore, now I'll mop you three up!" he aimed his cybernetic hand at them and opened fire as the three 404 members scattered. The missile sailed through the open doorway and into the house, blowing chunks of plaster out of the ceiling as Reggie aimed at Gemini, pulling the trigger only to find he'd expended his ammunition on the rotor. _Damn it, keep an eye on your ammo jackass..._ he thought as he ejected the clip and shoved a new one in, realizing he was still set to kill. Switching back to stun, he opened fire on Gemini who leapt down after the helicopter.

"Sir!" Wire called as he vaulted over to the building immediately next door and taking a knee where Sara was barely visible, "I found Cleaver!"

He paused, "See to her, Wire! Hoover, with me!" _And don't do anything stupid, bomb-o-phile..._

"Y... yes sir!" Hoover answered, and the two followed Gemini into the junkyard.

XXX

"Alright Wire, what's going on?" Ghast asked. Will was barely listening to his superior's end of the conversation as he went through the files. It was all there. Contact lists... and several drop sites for Brotherson to deliver the materials. It wasn't Gemini's main base, but it was key supply depots as far as he knew.

"Got it; we'll be there in five. I'll call the General; keep her alive as best you can. Ghast out." He turned to Will, "You get everything?"

"Yes sir, all the documents we need and some more. More than we can carry..."

The window broke down and two gunmen charged in. Ghast whirled around and took a hip shot with his GJA-14 shotgun out of reflex, the energy blast hitting both of them and knocking them backwards. A pair of quick pumps and bursts later, both of the gunmen were confirmed to be down and Ghast reloaded. "Alright, grab all the ones relating to Gemini, we need to go get Cleaver. Why do the medics always get shot first..."

Will didn't know an answer to that as he grabbed the documents. _If only we could grab all of them; then maybe we could nail Brotherson to a wall..._ he did grab one non-mission related document, though. One that detailed Brotherson's main base location; the Bermuda Triangle.

XX

**Small Town, Colorado**

"Damn, Earth's getting too weird for me..." Agent Blanks said after they took out the next wave of vulnari. With the Kim and the Conclave fighters intercepting the vulnari before they closed into melee range, the GJ agents had been able to deploy tactically and lay down the rifle fire. There had been a few friendly fire incidents, but the stun rounds had bounced harmlessly off the warded armor that the Conclave's fighters wore. The vulnari had stopped for a moment, and they took their chance to catch their breathes near an abandoned barn.

"How so?" Kim asked as she started using her wrist Kimmunicator to scan the building, hoping Wade would be able to make something of the data.

"Well, aliens, mad science, magic, yada yada... and what are these things? I feel like I just walked onto Klendathu, except instead of bugs its ghosts..."

She paused, curling her lip as she mulled the analogy over. "That actually might be an apt description." The scan came up positive and she nodded, turning it off and sending the data to Wade. "Another one infected; adding it to the list..."

"We should still burn them." Casavir stated, "If we push any further in, we will be flanked."

"Then we won't push further in. The people here are clear, and we can wait until the GJ reinforcements get here as long as none escape." Kim said as she folded her arms. "No need to go all holy crusader about it."

Casavir grit his teeth, "Again, you know very well that we warned you."

"And you know very well that your idea of warning us was a break in, assault, a kidnapping, and being cryptic as well, a crypt. Don't play the misunderstood card, it won't help you."

He curled his lip as he looked at her when one of the GJ agents ran in. "Agent Blanks, ma'am, another wave seems to be materializing at the impact site."

Blanks nodded, checking the charge of the GJA-13 she'd taken up as her sniper rifle lacked the rate of fire needed. "Get everyone on their toes, and check ammunition. We might wind up being forced to go energy bayonets and stock strikes if we keep chewing up ammunition like this."

"If you cannot tend to this position, retreat and we will do the job properly." Casavir cut in, hefting up his flanged mace and giving it a twirl like it was a paperweight. Kim briefly wondered how much of the strength he had was actually his, and how much was just magical enhancement. She hoped most of it was magical enhancement, just in case it became a fight. _If I had a few of those grenades Wade gave me for the Magocracy sitch, a fight with him would be over before it began._

"Doing the right thing's tough, don't patronize us." she retorted as she pulled her gloves tight and formed a fist with her right hand. _A bit tired, but not a big enough deal to be worried._ "Let's rock."

XX

**Beachhead Defensive Line**

**Doctor Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

Shego nodded at the beachhead from the forward command post set up by the henchmen to coordinate the defense from. Five Telthor mechs marched up slowly to their positions in the sandbag wall and henchmen took their place. Most of them were armed with shock staves, but the few who had actual military experience or training were given the GJA-13's they had salvaged from the Alps base. She had mused on that limited distribution earlier. _It's not that we can make more of them. Ammo? No problem. The weapons themselves? There's a reason Doctor D took most of them to reverse engineer._ And she hoped he'd yield something. If they could get one with weak enough recoil that they could just mass produce it for the synthodrone fodder to use instead of shock staves, it'd be a good edge and emphasize very well how they'd use drones. Just waves of men and bullets, without the moral issues of human wave tactics.

"Ma'am," one of the henchmen said, "The... things are coming onto the beach."

Shego pulled a pair of binoculars out and looked through. Yes, the first of the creatures were coming onto the shore. "Get those mechs up here, I want sprays in corridors that are thick with these things. We're somewhat limited on our power packs, so keep that in mind before you go on a spray 'n' pray stunt."

"Yes ma'am!"

"Steady... steady..." the creatures entered range. "Open fire!"

The synthodrones, laser turrets, Telthor mechs, and henchmen opened fire. Creatures were struck, howling in pain before subsequent strikes of the hailstorm fully destroyed them. _If it weren't for the horde... this would be, and is, a massacre,_ Shego thought. Whatever they were, they didn't seem to be up for dealing with modern weapons... and as much as they could take from modern weapons, modern weapons still had the clear advantage. One lucky creature managed to get close, a human-sized ghostly prairie dog, and it leapt at her. Shego simply kicked it, knocking it back before finishing it with a pair of punches. Several others got close, but henchmen with GJA-13's quickly activated the energy bayonets to stab them before taking a few quick point blank shots or stabbed them repeatedly with the business ends of shock staves, holding the barricade as the first crashing wave failed.

"That was too easy." one of the female henchmen said in surprise as she checked her shock staff's charge. "There's no way that's the end of it."

Shego nodded; this one, at least, knew her stuff. She pulled out her communicator; "Hey, Perkins, what's the situation?"

_"Another wave is materializing off the shore of impact island. Now's the time to take stock and get ready, we have about another hour before they land."_ he answered, _"I'll track them. No word on anything from Doctor Drakken, either."_

"Let me know when he does, and get some more power packs down here. These things can take modern guns, but the range edge it gives is just too good for them." She paused, "I almost think that these things were meant for something of a much lower tech base. Like, spears and bows."

_"Considering they charged like a horde of D&D undead? Probably."_

Shego grit her teeth; _Why am I always surrounded by __geeks__?_

XX

**North of Yamanouchi, Japan**

"This is scout squadron JST-02, stand by, we have a visual." The GJ Agent nodded to his small team of four and set up his GJA-19's modular bipod, looking down the scope towards the party. "I count multiple bogies, ninjas by the looks of them."

"Why does it always have to be ninjas?"

"Shut it, Griswold." he answered, "We knew our targets were stealthy. Range... one hundred meters. Hang on, got a recognized contact..." he blinked, taking his eye out of the scope before putting it back in. "Ron Stoppable? The hell the sidekick doing here? And why don't we know about it?"

"Should be intercept?" Another agent asked, loading his GJA-15 and making sure it was set to stun.

He shook his head. "Operation Pound needs recon, not prisoners. Follow 'em, see where they're heading." He pulled up his rifle and flipped the bipod against the rifle again. "Move out."

XX

**Five Minutes Later...**

"Stoppable-san, in the trees." Yori said, holding her hand up. Ron nodded as she gave a brief nod in the direction and Ron saw the glint. _It looks like... SNIPER!_

He switched the Lotus Blade into a riot shield and moved in front of the group where he saw the glint, holding it up to provide cover... no sniper shots came, but Ron knew he saw the glint. The other ninjas sprinted towards the target, acrobatically dodging as Ron saw azure energy bolts speeding from the trees, and he charged forward, switching the Lotus Blade into a quarterstaff and charging a magical ward to protect himself from the shots. A sniper round sped straight into his ward and was absorbed, but the shock made Ron stumble as the other ninjas got in close to the GJ agents. One of them was blasted back by a shotgun burst and stunned into the tree, while he saw Yori dispatching the sniper with several quick joint strikes.

He leapt over the foliage, bringing the quarterstaff to bear on a young man... _in Global Justice uniform!_ One he saw it, he looked around, "Stop fighting! They're friendly!" he shouted. "Yori! They're Global Justice!"

Yori looked down at the sniper as the other two GJ agents were pinned against the trees by the other ninjas, at least two on every GJ agent now. Ron looked at the sniper, who spat a glob of blood to the snowy ground and looked at him. "The hell you doing with these ninjas, Stoppable?" the sniper asked.

"What's GJ doing out here? Checking the impact site?" Ron demanded_._ He didn't know why they were, but he wanted to find out.

"Impact site? That isn't our..."

"Can it, Griswold!" the sniper cut in. "You know procedure; Name, number, unit."

Yori cut in, "We'll have to gag them, blind them, and take them with us. We cannot allow Global Justice to discover it." Ron gave her a curious look, before realizing that by 'it', she meant Yamanouchi.

"What're we going to do, hold them until the end of their days? Just have them disappear like that?" Ron challenged, snapping to emphasize. "What about their families? They don't know anything about it, and if they can't track us, they can't get anything useful to Doctor Director."

"Stoppable-san, how will we know they will not simply follow us? I understand your position, but we must consider other things."

"Easy," Ron said, "We knock them out and hide them in the trees up there. When they come around, they can make their way back to base, and we can have our tracks easily covered. We all walk away, no one gets hurt..." he glanced at the GJ agent who had a bloody nose. "Well, hurt anymore than we already are."

Yori looked at him briefly before she nodded. "Very well. We do it your way."

XXX

**Cyprus**

**North of GJ Firebase Med-3**

Ghast swore as the gunmen came up the road. "Bloody hell; Command, we got a bunch of gunmen inbound on our position, looks like Brotherson got his blokes together, they're making a beeline straight for us!"

_"Copy that. Hold your ground, I'm sending a transport to pick you up. Reggie and Hoover better be there when it arrives, as the pilots aren't going to risk an extended stay. Gemini just got marked a lot lower in the priority list with incidents elsewhere coming up like crazy."_

"Copy that, I'll bring them home!" Ghast said as he looked to Wire, "You got any tricks?"

"I can line the ways up with sonic and flash charges, but I need cover to do it!"

Ghast nodded, "Go! Du and I will cover you." He glanced towards Cleaver, who was stable for now and propped up against the wall away from the incoming mob of attackers. He grabbed her GJA-13 and her ammunition, keeping his shotgun close as he took up a position near the roof where Cleaver had jumped onto; the roof had no access from the house itself so for now they were secure on that front. Most of the gunmen had taken up position on the streets and using various benches and empty cars for cover, but a few were coming up onto the roofs. Ghast hit his radio; "Reggie, Hoover, get your arses back here!"

XXX

Reggie vaulted over the fence of the soccer field when he heard it over the radio. "Sir?" he asked, "We're in pursuit of Gemini and hot on his trail; he's wounded!"

_"Gemini just got a much lower spot on the shit list; I don't know the whole story, but he's not at the top of the bingo book anymore. Get your ass back here, we have gunmen charging and if you aren't here for evac you're going to have a long walk!"_

Reggie looked at Gemini, the villain fleeing like a coward, before sighing. "Alright, sir, we're on our way back." He glanced towards Hoover, "Hoover! We're falling back!"

"W... why?"

"Apparently, Gemini isn't worth slotting anymore, and the others are in trouble. We're heading back, double-time."

"Y... yes sir." Hoover answered, and the two moved back towards the town.

XX

Will Du ducked as the bullets ricocheted off the building's walls. _Too close,_ he thought, knowing that if help didn't arrive soon they'd have much worse wounded than just Cleaver being hit with one of Gemini's missiles. Ghast had laid down suppressive fire while he reloaded. "Wire!" Ghast called, "You done yet?"

"Almost!" Wire answered, "Just setting... there we go! On my... _shit!_" Will glanced over to see Wire running from the next door building's roof door, holding his rifle one handed and spraying inaccurate fire down the stairs before he grabbed the rifle with both hands again and leapt over. Ghast turned as a Wire was gripping the roof and slipping. Will rose and shot at the gunmen trying to shoot Wire, stunning them and the first one fell backwards down the steps, taking the others down with him as Ghast pulled Wire up onto their makeshift fort.

"Where the _hell_ is that evac?" Ghast swore as he rejoined Will, Wire taking up a position to watch the doorway, setting off one of the sonic charges in the doorway leading up and hopefully dealing with the gunmen inside. The civilians had ran for other parts of town now, and local police were... they didn't know where the cops were, but it wasn't there. _Most likely keeping order while the civilians are moving to shelter,_ Will concluded as he picked off a gunman trying to move towards one of the nearby buildings. A series of bullets whizzed past his ear, sending his heart into a pounding rate as adrenaline kicked in and gave him a sudden clarity of his world, mind disconnected as honed instinct took over and he picked off another gunman. Ghast and Wire were racking up a stun count as well, the gunmen failing to punch through as Will spotted the GJ hovercraft coming to pick them up in the distance.

"Reggie and Hoover need to arrive soon," Will said, "The craft is almost here!"

"I know!" Wire answered hotly as he reloaded, "Can we pick them up if they don't make it in time?"

"No idea, but they better double time... there they are!"

_"Hope you don't plan to leave without us; coming in through the streets, only way up!"_ Reggie explained as Will caught sight of the two trying to advance through the street. Ghast nodded to Will, and the two began spraying fire.

"Wire, set off the charges that are in their path, clear it for them!" Ghast ordered as he took out a gunman trying to storm Hoover's cover before he shifted to cover Wire's position. Wire nodded, and began manipulating his detonator, carefully setting of the right non-lethal charge in the right locations. "Reggie, get moving, the charges should of cleared the way!"

_"Copy. Let's move, Hoover!"_

Will watched the two hurrying through the streets, laying down cover fire to keep the other gunmen down, most of whom were now concerned with the spontaneous and random detonations in the area. He lost sight of the two as they stormed into the building and the hovercraft came down, firing a rocket full of tear gas into the gunmen, who scattered, and the hovercraft lowered its back ramp. The pilot called via the radio; _"Everyone in; I'm not sticking around in case they have RPG's to hit us with!"_

"Everyone inside!" Ghast called as Hoover leapt over, Reggie right behind him. Will hurried over to the hovercraft and did a silent head count. Hoover, Ghast with Cleaver, himself... then he noticed Wire was crouching at the edge. Reggie missed the jump, and Wire was pulling him up. Reggie looked at the Jordanian demolitions expert with a faint hint of surprise before the two sprinted inside. "That's everyone!" Ghast called, "Punch it!"

_"Copy that; lifting clear. Let's get you boys, and girl, home."_

XX

**Small Town, Colorado**

_"Kim, the reinforcements are touching down now."_

"Got it, Wade," Kim answered before she leapt over a puma shaped vulnari that charged her, grabbing it by the tail and hurling it into another vulnari. She could see Casavir charging magic before knocking the vulnari attacking him back with a burst of magical energy, and the GJ agents were holding the line behind her and the other hand-to-hand combatants. The whine of hoverjet engines reached her ears, and she looked up to see a pair of GJ hovercraft floating right above her, spitting out gobs of energy into the vulnari in a wide spray.

_"Heads up down there, we need some room to drop the rockets."_ a pilot said.

"Got it. Everyone, pull back!" Kim shouted, "That means you, Casavir!"

Casavir gave her a look before glancing up and nodded, the Conclave forces falling back right behind the Global Justice agents, and the hovercraft began to fire several rockets into the crowd of vulnari. The bursts of multiple explosions shredded the vulnari, causing them to howl in pain before dissipating. The mechanical march of machines came into audible range, and a glance back showed her that GJ had deployed multiple Telthor mechs, which took up the slack of Agent Blanks' command and began to add their own volleys into the vulnari, driving them back as more rounds than she even tried to count sprayed into the vulnari. For now, at least, GJ had the upper hand.

XX

**Beachhead Defensive Line**

**Doctor Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

"Next wave incoming!" A henchman shouted as the third wave moved in. The henchmen who had taken the chance to get a quick nap woke up groggily, as did Shego. _Man, ten minutes is not enough. Can't believe how long it takes to fall asleep in the field._ She glanced over the barricade and saw the next wave of creatures incoming. _Wonder what Global Justice is up to..._

"Alright, you know the drill. Focus your fire on the main horde, then have our designated marksmen pick off the stragglers." Shego ordered as synthodrones and henchmen alike took their positions, and the Telthor mech pilots leapt into their vehicles and powered them up. The next group of creatures came onto the beach, and once in range yet again, the slaughter began. She lit her plasma, "Let's see how much these things can take this time."

"Fire at Will!" a henchman shouted.

"Hey, wait, he doesn't mean me!" He barely stopped the drones in time, who turned their firepower against the creatures as they charged, bolts of blue energy sailing into the crowd of beasts. Shego watched, knowing that while her own powers were a good addition, it'd be too slow. _Besides, I'm needed for melee,_ she thought as a ghostly tiger snarled and charged her after shrugging off a hit from one of the laser turrets. A swift punch to its jaw followed by a kick to the stomach caused it to dissipate. Another charged her and she leapt in a spin, kicking it and causing it to stagger before two synthodrones shot it down... and were torn up by another creature before it was filled with rounds from a henchman with a GJA-13.

_"Shego; this wave was larger than the others,"_ Perkins said, _"I have a feeling that we may need to pull back."_

Shego grunted as she took a punch from a gorilla shaped creature, forcing her to stumble back to avoid falling over before she blocked the next punch and leg swept it and back flipped away from its counterattack and threw two bolts of plasma at the creature, forcing it to dissipate. The creatures began to claw at the turrets as the henchmen and drones fell back when vines came out from behind their lines and began slapping the creatures. She glanced behind her and saw Drakken standing there, face contorted in concentration as the vines were lashing the creatures in reach... and being severed in return. Shego noticed a pair of the creatures rushing Drakken, gray, ghostly wolves, and charged them head on, brawling with them. The first one was taken out with a hurled plasma bolt, an uppercut, followed by a kick when the other one tackled her, pinning her in place. She reached for its neck instinctively and neck snapped it. The creature howled in pain and she took advantage of that opening to throw it to the side and finish it with two quick punches. As she pulled herself up, the henchmen and synthodrones had rallied, a Telthor mech shooting the last of the creatures into hot air as she stood.

"Shego, you alright?" Drakken asked, leaping over a pile of synthogoo.

"I'm fine," Shego said as she glanced at her arm. "Just a scratch. So what's going on?"

"Well, the creatures are stopping, for now, and I managed to whip up a crude heat sink." He pulled an ice colored container encased on the corners with a black casing from his pocket to show her."It should let the lasers fire faster for a period of time... least until the heat sink is full and it needs to pop it out." He put it back. "I just need to modify the turrets to take them, and give it a test."

They heard the whine of engines and Shego looked up, expecting a Global Justice attack... instead, it was Lucre with a hovercar, in the back of it was a crate. He landed the car gently and leapt out with a grin. "Guess what I found?"

"Surprise me." Shego retorted as Drakken raised an eyebrow at the crate. Lucre smiled and pulled it open. Within where small, mostly spherical devices lacking paint with a small antenna on the top, two small wings on the side and a small glow panel on the front. It gave Shego a feeling of déjà vu...

"What are these things?" Drakken asked with a frown, "They look... familiar."

"Ah, one of Hench's designs. Security Drones, small, swift little buggers good for tagging and bagging... or looking around before we jump in." Lucre answered, "Got them at a bargain in a flea market in Havana."

Drakken whistled, "Nice find, Lucre. They have miniature hover engines, and use Hench's laser attack designs. I bet they could even hold some nets."

Shego curled her lip; "And how detectable are they?"

"Well, the engines have a distinct whine, but if you want a little big brother, you don't get much better, except maybe Gemini's Fly-on-the-Wall."

"Which is overpriced considering everyone just swats them." Lucre answered. "Ca'mon, I wanna show it to Perkins, get him riled about dirt cheap scavenging coming up big."

XX

**Small Town, Colorado**

"Alright, Casavir, I think I need to iron this out now." Kim said, having pulled the paladin aside to confront him directly. Agent Blanks and the other GJ agents were either resting or setting up defensive positions and turrets to keep the vulnari in.

"I'm listening, Possible." Casavir answered, holding his arms as his shield was strapped on his back and flanged mace hanging from his belt.

"You all rant about me having powers and the like, right? The whole reason for that little lair thing in Australia is to make sure I had them? I beat that, and without powers."

"What..." Casavir began, but Kim cut him off before he could continue.

"The things you think are in my bloodline? Yeah, met one of them. Turns out the 'djinni' stuff you think is actually space aliens. Specifically, meriur High Scions, a ascended-thingy form of the regular ones. Magocracy had one captured in their lair near Siberia along with a few other meriur. Guess what? The powers you seek so highly vanish after the third generation. So even if I _do_ have one of those things in the ancestry so far back I'm probably just one of thousands, I wouldn't have them."

"But, the catalyst..."

She smirked widely, savoring Casavir's shock as she punched the Conclave's cliché rhetoric in the face. "That thing which tried to force the powers onto me? Yeah, I kinda... resisted it. Entirely. With no powers as a result."

Casavir's eyes widened. "The Conclave Council shall hear of this. I hope your confident in yourself."

"Yes," Kim said as he turned and left. "I am." As he left, she wondered what would happen. _Perhaps, just maybe, the Conclave will see some sense and stop trying to act like the guardians they apparently were in their early founding._ She glanced down and activated her Kimmunicator. "Wade, how're we looking?"

_"Global Justice is all set; you're free to head home and get some sleep. The talk with Casavir go well?"_

"About as much as I figured. He listened, at least. In denial."

_"Ah well, at least he'll report it. Might stun them for a bit until Ron gets back."_

"Speaking of that, anything on Ron?"

_"Nope, just a note saying he's alright and handled some in Japan."_

XXX

**Skull Island**

**Near Doctor Drakken's Caribbean Lair**

"General Townes, we've deployed our forces." reported the GJ agent with a salute.

"Good." Townes said as he looked out the window of the temporary command post. "Keep me informed on developments, we may get an opportunity to bring in a certain blue freak in the near future, but our mission here comes first. Get the turrets deployed and a perimeter set, these things swarm and they won't just stick to trying to eat Pillsbury Blue Boy forever." He sighed, "Handy as that would be for us all, I think."

"Yes sir. Permission to return to my duties?"

He smiled faintly, "Dismissed, Agent. Ensure all our laser turrets are online." The agent left, and he was alone in his office to ponder the chance he had to pay Drakken and Shego back for what they did to him in Florida. He knew those two were up to something. Their activities screamed that they were active. All that was left to do for now, however, was to be ready for them.

**End Chapter:**

*** I apologize for this being late, but my computer decided to kick me in the balls. For some reason my flashdrive seems to be getting randomly corrupted every once in a while, and my general chronology sheet which had like... extremely rough notes on EVERYTHING was corrupted, so I spent a shitload of time trying to recover it all from memory. That, plus a school science project just left me with little time...**

*** One thing that, with hindsight, I look back on and wonder is the whole Magocracy plotline I developed. I dunno; its feeling like either I need to make it a focus **_**now**_** and get it over with, or backburner it as much as possible in a way that makes sense. I'm personally thinking of taking a break from progress in this fic and going back to rewrite. Maybe post it up under another iteration of it. Sort of like taking prior experience and running it again, ya'know? Heck, I could use the chance to go through and repair grammatical errors and modify things that I had cases of 'did not do research' over (such as effective range of a rifle, vastly underestimated). Thing is, if I go this route I want to put this on hold and do it all at once and then get some distance on it when I get it posting again. If I do go through, I don't intend to totally trash every little bit of the Magocracy plot, but rather I'd change it so that it really **_**is**_** restricted to hints of a possible threat in the future like it was originally supposed to be, not have it eating up multiple chapters, or even rewrite it out/a more limited shtick. Most of the story's plot, heck, even all of it, would remain intact, but there'd be some modifications, changes to make the story flow better, grammar fixes (really egregious early on), etc. Actually, while I'm there I'd have to redo **_**Number Two**_**, probably. If anyone has two cents to enter on this concern of mine, I'd appreciate it. Could just be authorial regret, could be a seriously valid concern, but I'm believing that this may be the best course to go.**

*** If I do go through, of course, I'll likely simply move the 'original' version to its own story so it is still on the internet. If I recall the policy right, that would be allowed as it would not be a repost of the exact same story, but rather archival of an old one. If it isn't allowed if I go through with this plan, I'll keep the old copy on-hand and send it to anyone who wants it.**

*** Really, the vulnari are something that was seriously dangerous with a low tech level, but when you give people guns, it becomes a lot less dangerous. Why? Modern rifles can kill you from so far that if it was a video game people would be raging that they can't see them. Sure, the vulnari take just as much of a hit from a thrown rock than they do a rocket launcher, but a modern rifle can fire rounds so fast that their only edge is swarm.**

*** Not doing an in-'verse document this chapter, at least not until I've taken a step back and done an overhaul.**

*** Finally, I'd like to thank Reader101w, anon, and S058 for leaving constructive reviews. I appreciate them, guys.**


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